Equality and diversity

We are committed to advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for our workforce, patients and communities. Our approach is grounded in the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty, and is embedded within our Trust strategy, People strategy and Trust values. In 2025, we launched our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan (2025–2030), aligning statutory responsibilities with organisational priorities into a single, coherent framework. Our key ambitions are:

• Our leaders will set the tone and culture for an equitable, diverse and inclusive FHFT
• Our people will represent and reflect our local population
• We will work towards eliminating discrimination, harassment and bullying
• We will listen to our people and amplify diverse voices
• We will work on closing pay gaps (gender, ethnicity and disability)

Equality

It is vital that we keep pace with the changing needs of local communities and ensure that in whatever we do, no one is treated unfairly or unlawfully discriminated against on the grounds of:

Age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

This list of protected characteristics describes modern society, communities, our patients and the people we work alongside. These protected characteristics are important as they form an important part of a person’s identity and enable us to understand the different needs of patients and staff.

Diversity

Diversity is all around us, every day. Diversity is about recognising and valuing individual difference.

Our patients, service users, staff and communities are different in many ways. A lot of this is influenced by culture, personal values, life experience, traditions, customs, beliefs and identity.