Equality, diversity and inclusion

At the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all that we do. We want our NHS services at Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital to be fair, accessible and appropriate for our patients, their carers and visitors, and we wish to demonstrate the strides we are making to embed equality within our world class care values.

We are a prominent employer and service provider in North Central London, drawing our staff from diverse ethnic backgrounds and life experiences. The diversity of our workforce and people who access our services bring a richness of cultures and lifestyles, driving the development of our annual equality work plans. 

Our workforce and people using our services know that these services and how they are delivered need to be responsive to change. Therefore to be successful, we are working in partnership with our staff, people using our services and key stakeholders to reduce health inequalities.

We will support our staff in their responsibility to ensure the equality delivery system and equality analysis are embedded in all parts of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

What is meant by equality?

Under the Equality Act 2010, NHS organisations have what is called a ‘general equality duty’ to promote equality. They must:

  • eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.
  • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
  • foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

The general equality duty covers the following protected characteristics:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race – this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality
  • Religion or belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation

Like all other NHS organisations, we have specific tasks we must do as part of the general equality duty: We must:

  • publish information demonstrating our compliance with the general equality duty by 31 January each year.
  • have published one or more equality objectives to meet the requirements of the general equality duty by 6 April 2012, then update these objectives by 6 April every year, and set new objectives at least every four years.

Find out more by reading our comprehensive equality information report. It sets out what we are doing to become an even better employer. It also says how we are improving the way frontline health services deliver good health outcomes for people with protected characteristics.

Learn more about the Equality Act 2010, visit the UK Home Office website.