Sectoral guidance: health 

On this page

• Your role
  
• Promoting good race relations: dos and don’ts
  
• Your organisation
  
• Working in partnership
  

Your role

SHAs were set up by the Department of Health to manage the NHS locally, on behalf of the Secretary of State. They are responsible for improving the performance and quality of local health services, and for increasing service capacity. They are also responsible for making sure that national priorities are integrated into local health service plans.

Poor health is often an unavoidable consequence of poverty and other forms of social deprivation, and affects people from all ethnic backgrounds in Britain. However, as people from some ethnic backgrounds tend to be disproportionately disadvantaged by social and economic deprivation, they also tend to suffer from worse health. How SHAs and other health organisations approach these inequalities and meet their statutory duty to promote good race relations has the potential to make a profound difference to the lives of patients and their families and friends. It will also influence the way other organisations work, and affect the community at large.

Promoting good race relations: dos and don’ts

Do:

• Make sure that your race equality scheme addresses the duty to promote good race relations, and provide adequate resources to carry out all requirements.
• Encourage dialogue among people from all racial groups about the effectiveness of local health policies and services.
• Promote participation by people from all racial groups in decision-making about the ways in which local health services are provided.
• Monitor levels of satisfaction with the nature and quality of health services among the communities served both locally and nationally, and work with other local and national agencies to raise these.
• Publicise policies to promote good relations through the national media, and through local and regional networks as part of the organisation’s communication plans.
• Work with other public authorities and voluntary or community organisations in all these areas, and take the lead in creating partnerships, wherever appropriate.
• SHA board members and staff should play an active role in the organisation’s decision-making process.
• Make sure that all staff are fully consulted on, and are supportive of, policies to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations, including using the use of positive action measures where appropriate.
• Deal with complaints of discrimination and harassment from staff speedily, and notify staff of the outcomes of action taken.
• SHA board members and staff should make sure contractors understand and take into consideration the duty to promote good race relations. See our guide Race Equality and Public Procurement for more informaation.

Don’t:

• Fail to address in your race equality scheme the duty to promote good race relations, or provide adequate resources to ensure delivery.
• Fail to demonstrate leadership, internally or in public, or recognise the need to be proactive in promoting good race relations.
• Fail to use community-based consultation approaches such as public meetings, surveys and outreach programmes to identify which policies are relevant to the race equality duty and how good race relations can be promoted in the ways in which services are provided.
• Fail to provide adequate resources for promoting good race relations.
• Fail to identify, assess, consult on or monitor the effects of policies that are relevant to the promotion of good race relations.
• Fail to make information about your policies and practices accessible to all communities.
• Ignore complaints of discrimination and harassment from staff, which can lead to a drop in staff morale.
• Fail to make sure that all staff are fully consulted on, and are involved in, the development of policies to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations.

Your organisation

The role of board members and senior staff

Board members and staff are responsible for ensuring that SHAs meet the statutory duties under the RRA, including the duty to promote good race relations. It is therefore important that there is public confidence in the ways in which board members and staff working for SHAs and other health organisations carry out their duties.

Board members and senior staff should provide leadership in promoting good race relations both internally and externally, as well as ensuring that policies and practices take account of the duty to promote race equality.

Working in partnership

In order to promote good race relations nationally, regionally and locally, you will need to work closely with other organisations. Where possible, you should build the promotion of good race relations into existing arrangements such as local strategic partnerships (LSPs). If necessary, you should create new partnerships to promote good race relations.

When working in partnership, you should inform partner organisations of how you intend to meet the requirements of the race equality duty, including the duty to promote good race relations, and make sure all partners adopt your approach. This should include, where relevant, the requirement to promote good race relations in procurement contracts and service agreements as a performance standard for how services are delivered.

Read guidance on this section in race equality duty documents.