Equality and Diversity

The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust has many initiatives and groups in place to support and drive forward the work in the important area of equality and diversity. The Trust lead for diversity across the organisation is the Deputy Director of Human Resources. This includes both patient and staffing issues.

The Trust considers that all aspects of diversity are equally important, and strives to make continual improvements in the areas of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.

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Quick Links
Disability Forum		Improving Working Lives
Equality & Diversity Group		Racial Harrasment Forum
Disability Equality Scheme		Zero Tolerance
Race Equality Scheme		Disability Issues Adviser Network
Gender Equality Scheme		Equality Impact Assessments
Respecting Diversity Group		Monitoring
Suffolk Black & Minority Ethnic Staff Network		Diversity Champions

Disability Forum
The Disability Forum looks at access to, and provision of, services at the hospital for people with a disability. It considers patients’ and carers’ needs as well as the hospital environment and meets bi-monthly for up to two hours, usually on a Friday morning. Both disabled people and representatives of voluntary organisations who work with people who have disabilities are on the forum.

We urgently need new members. Where necessary, we can provide support to help attend and take part in meetings, for example the hospital can arrange for signers or reimburse expenses for a supporter.

In the last few months the forum has looked at the visual alert symbols used to identify patients with a disability, disability awareness training for staff and the need for buses to be able to drop off patients within the hospital complex. They have also been working with the Hearing Services User Group to assess the hearing loop provision within the hospital.

Click here for more information about the Disability Forum.