NHS England to publish ‘equality improvement plan’ for primary care

NHS England is developing a plan aimed at enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion across all four areas of primary care.

The commissioner mentioned that there are notable differences in the level of support provided to the primary care workforce concerning equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

The policy team at NHS England, including primary care medical director Dr. Claire Fuller and chief workforce officer Dr. Navina Evans, is working on creating a customized plan to enhance equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in primary care. This plan will serve as a framework for outlining the need for change.

The blog referenced a 2022 report on the primary care workforce, which revealed that 12% of participants had either quit their jobs or thought about doing so because of experiences with racial discrimination or harassment. Additionally, it noted that nearly 30% of respondents experienced harassment or discrimination from their coworkers or supervisors based on their personal traits.

NHSE plans to collaborate with ICBs, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the BMA's GP Committee to develop the strategy. They will seek input from GPs in the coming months, including during upcoming events in the next few weeks.

The release of the plan is anticipated for September of next year.

In a recent webinar for general practitioners, Claire Parker, the main lead of NHS England's EDI implementation team, announced that they are working on creating an improvement plan focused on EDI for primary care. This plan will encompass all four areas of primary care: general practice, dentistry, optometry, and pharmacy.

The key point for us is that we aim to collaborate with everyone who is involved in those fields to create this together.

We're planning to host a number of engagement events this autumn, beginning in just a couple of weeks. We invite our colleagues working in primary care to come and share your thoughts and experiences with us. Your input will help us create something that truly meets the needs of our community.

In the previous month, NHS England released new recommendations for general practice clinics on dealing with racist incidents, whether they originate from patients or coworkers, following the recent civil unrest seen throughout the nation.

This involves implementing a strong disciplinary policy for employees engaging in racist behavior outside of work, in addition to making sure that staff are aware of the steps to take if they experience racism while at work.