Equality and diversity

Alder Hey is an inclusive, supportive environment with warm and friendly staff.

The 330,000 patients we see each year are a natural reflection of the rich, diverse mix of communities and cultures in the UK. We are committed to serving everybody equally, without prejudice.

Equality of Service Delivery to Different Groups

The Trust recognises the importance of the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda in achieving its overall strategic aims and in addressing health inequalities in access, experience and outcomes. The Trust is fully committed to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty.

The formation of integrated care systems nationally signaled a new ambition for collaborative working in order to develop effective, joined up models of care that are designed around people’s needs and are more likely to improve access to care, quality of care, health inequalities and outcomes. Alder Hey sits as part of the Cheshire and Merseyside (C&M) Integrated Care System (ICS) and during 2022/23 we continued to work with partners to advance and coordinate paediatric care, address health inequalities and improve children and young people’s outcomes. Some examples of this work include:

• Leading on the Health Equity Collaborative for Cheshire and Mersey in partnership with Barnardo’s and the Institute for Health Equity, through the Beyond Programme, to address health inequalities based on evidence-based interventions.
• Continuing to host and jointly chair the Children’s Health Alliance with Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.
• Collaborative working with Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to further enable stable and equitable access to specialist children and young people’s services across the North West, ensuring the children of the North West have access to the very best clinical expertise and outcomes.
• Contribution to system leadership into Liverpool’s ‘Healthy Children and Families’ segment of the One Liverpool Plan to address health inequalities across the city.
• Establishment of a Health Inequalities and Prevention Steering Group to tackle health inequalities using a coordinated approach to all matters of health inequalities and prevention for children, young people and their families in Alder Hey, in Liverpool, across Cheshire and Merseyside and nationally.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion continues to be an integral part of the Alder Hey values of Respect – for each other celebrating difference, Excellence – be part of an outstanding organisation, Innovation – opportunity to be part of shaping the organisation, Together – working together to encourage inclusivity and Openness – to share and be listened to each other.

The Trust continues to strive to improve the diversity of the workforce, particularly from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. This commitment is included in the Trust’s Recruitment Strategy and is reinforced via the underpinning Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Policy which sets out the Trust’s commitment to creating an inclusive organisation, which seeks to recognise diversity, promote equal opportunities, and supports human rights in the provision of health services for the communities it serves and in its practice as a leading employer. In 2022/23 the Trust relaunched the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Group, chaired by Non-Executive Director Garth Dallas reporting directly to Trust Board. The Steering Group will play a crucial governance role in providing strategic coherence and oversight across all matters related to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

The following staff networks were also relaunched in 2022/23:

• The Race, Equality and Cultural Heritage Network (REACH), previously known as the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network
• The LGBTQI+ Network
• The Disability and Long-Term Conditions Network

Clinal Research Facility

Vision

The NIHR Alder Hey Clinical Research Facility (AHCRF) is committed to ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI) are fully integrated into our service and culture.

The case for this is both moral (it is not fair if we don’t include some people but do include others) and scientific (if we only test medicines for children on certain limited groups, will the research answers be correct?).

To achieve this, we will undertake work in five themes based on areas related to our work, learning about where we can improve, implementing changes, checking to make sure it has made a difference, and teaching others about what has helped.

Everything we do is centred around the families we treat.

Our five strategic themes

1. Become a more inclusive funder of research.
2. Widen access for participation for greater diversity and inclusion.
3. Improve and invest in the NIHR talent pipeline.
4. Embed evidence-led diversity and inclusion approaches.
5. Collaborate with partners for impact and sustainability.