NHS EQUALITY DELIVERY SERVICE GRADING GROUP

At the Peepul Centre today, for the Equality Delivery System (EDS) Grading Group, sponsored by the Integrated Equalities Service for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCTs, working in partnership with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

This event is being held to allow participants to review the information NHS organisations have published and evidenced as part of their EDS self-assessment work and decide whether the proposed grade is appropriate.

The Equality Delivery System (EDS) is a new structured method designed by the NHS to assist its organisations in meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010, covering all nine protected characteristics. In order to get an accurate and comprehensive perspective NHS organisations using the EDS are encouraged to work with staff-side groups, community organisations and local interest groups in tackling inequalities in their areas. The EDS is broken down into four structured goals over:

• Better health outcomes for all
• Improved patient access and experience
• Empowered, engaged and well-supported staff
• Inclusive leadership at all levels

This has been planned and promoted as a two-day event: day one looking at the first two goals with the focus on patient services and experiences; day two looking at the last two goals with a focus on employment, staff support and the organisation’s leadership. Each day is scheduled to run from 1200-2015.

But it doesn't quite work out tha way. Attendees voice concerns about the kind of information evidenced (and that which has not been evidenced) and their competence to comment on what's been put before them. There's recognition of conflation between what's interesting and useful to the organisation and what's interesting and useful to service users and the kind of organisations represented here today. So during an impromptu break, the organisers rejig the whole event, cancelling tomorrow's session, bringing forward the close of today's session to 1700 and setting us the collective task of spending the next few hours discussing, devising and deciding upon the kind of evidence that would work for all of us.

I say good on them, for listening to what attendees were saying today and responding to it as a matter of urgency. I haven't seen that done very often at this kind of event. As I said to Christina Marriot, Manager of the Integrated Equalities Service, if they (and particularly she) don't get a gold star on the evaluation forms today for thinking on their feet, then there's no justice in the room!

EMAS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT FOR LEICESTERSHIRE & RUTLAND

 

This morning I take up on invitation to attend a "Community Engagement Event" with the Leicestershire and Rutland Division of the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS). I'm here today (with the agreement and support of my Personnel Management Group) rather than being at the National Meeting of the Inter Faith Network being held in Birmingham (the first time in four years I've missed attending that).

The venue is The Venue, a multi-purpose community facility in Gwendolen Road that I didn't know existed before today - and very nice it is too. The event has been funded through proceeds from EMAS's recycling scheme, so not a penny has been taken from front line services to pay for this today.

When I arrive and start putting up our banner, I'm told that there's already a Council of Faiths pop up banner inside the main meeting too. I'm initially baffled by this and go in to have a look. I'd forgotten that EMAS had paid for one of the banners when the exhibition was made for display in Highcross during National Inter Faith Week 2009. EMAS had said that they'd be using this banner at their own events and, true to their word, here it was. So I put up the banner I'd brought in the foyer That's it in the photo above, flanked by Mukesh Barot on the left (Equalities Manager at EMAS) and Jagtar Singh (conference facilitator) on the right.

This event provides an opportunity to meet the Interim Chief Executive of EMAS (Prof. Tamar J Thompson OBE) and members of the Management Team for Leicestershire and Rutland; for the Ambulance Service to hear the views of the patients, public and communities they serve; and for us to become more directly involved in discussions about EMAS's current and future service provision.

East Midlands Ambulance Service provides emergency, urgent care and patient transport services for 4.8 million people across the six counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (including north and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. EMAS is currently in the process of becoming an NHS Foundation Trust. An NHS Foundation Trust is a new form of NHS organisation with greater freedom from government control so that it can better meet the needs of local communities. It remains part of the NHS and is subject to NHS standards, providing care paid for by the taxpayer, to NHS patients. To make this transition successfully, EMAS it has to involve service users and community representatives. People from all walks of life in the area served by EMAS can sign up to become members of its Trust.

This is the first meeting of its kind that EMAS has held, focusing on one of its geographical divisions (in EMAS terms, Leicestershire includes the city of Leicester). It's introduced as having an educational purpose, with the intention of helping save lives by encouraging communities, families and individuals to take better care of their health and well-being. We're asked not to think that it's merely a box-ticking exercise on EMAS's part, but a genuine beginning of working with alongside communities as partners. It follows up EMAS's presence and involvement in the Mela in Leicester at the weekend just gone, where more than 350 people were enrolled as members of EMAS's Trust.

A few facts and figures that we're given about EMAS (Leicestershire and Rutland Division) today:

• Geographical area: 1,000 square miles
• Population served: 984,000
• Ambulance stations: 11
• Staff: 544
• Accident and emergency call demand (2010-11): 91,000

With the current restructuring of service providers, EMAS will shortly be the only genuinely regional health body serving the whole of the East Midlands.

I feel a debt of gratitude and loyalty to EMAS, inasmuch as they contributed to funding my post after the initial grant from central government ran out at the end of March 2008. If it hadn't been for that assistance (paid for helping EMAS organise a summit on issues of religion and belief related to ambulance service provision in August 2008) I don't think my post would have survived beyond that initial stage. The summit was covered in depth in an illustrated article in EMAS's Lifelines magazine which is still accessible online (issue no. 9, Autumn 2008, pp.11-14).

As well as being here as a show of good faith with an organisation (and certain individuals inside that organisation) that helped preserve my post, I've also been asked to be here specifically because of a small number of incidents involving paramedics at local places of worship. More than once in recent months, paramedics have been called to attend places of worship for what is classed as a "Category A8" call ("A" signifying top priority - meaning that there is a perceived immediate risk to life, "8" being the number of minutes within which they must arrive at the scene of the incident) but have then been denied entrance to the premises because they have not removed their shoes or have not taken the time to cover their heads. One such incident also involved people at the place of worship being upset because a female paramedic arrived to treat a male patient. I take the time to speak with members of the EMAS team who have a special interest in these matters and we tentatively agree to meet up soon after this event and discuss in more depth what can be done to avoid such incidents occurring in future.

I also have a friendly and interesting chat with Simon Behan, EMAS's Recruitment Manager, about ways in which to make a career in the Ambulance Service more appealing to young people within the diverse faith communities of Leicester.

Kelly Jussab and Liz Harrison are here with promotional material for the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) as is Chino Cabon from The Race Equality Centre (TREC). REDP has been involved in helping EMAS develop its Community Engagement Strategy - both through attending focus group meetings around the region and critiquing the strategy as it has developed on paper.

There's a demonstration of how paramedics treat patients suffering cardiac arrest and the opportunity to take a guided tour round an ambulance vehicle. We're also offered a free mini health check today. The queue for that forms to the left of our banner and leaflet display, as you can see in the photo above. That's good news for one attendee, who is discovered to have a dangerously slow pulse and is given what's described as "life saving treatment" right away.

There's a choice of four workshops:

• Performance and response: what happens when you ring 999
• Infection control and vehicle cleanliness: practical demonstration with Q&A
• Engagement: how can EMAS engage/involve you more effectively
• Access: what can the Ambulance Service do to improve access to services and career opportunities?

Guess which one I attended, faithful reader ...

A buffet lunch brings this short, but very useful meeting to an end. We're told that we won't be allowed to leave today until each one of us has designated an ICE number on our mobiles. That's a person who should be contacted In Case of Emergency. Paramedics routinely look for this number on the phone of patients who are unconscious or can't communicate. I do this for mine - and sign up as a member of EMAS's Trust too.

EMAS "COMMUNITY IN UNITY" EVENT

To Nottingham this morning for "Community in Unity", an event led by East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), at the city's Council House. I'm here representing both Leicester Council of Faiths and the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) along with Project Officer Kelly Jussab and Researcher Carolyn Pasco.

There's a range of displays, covering different aspects of EMAS's work as well as other patient support services in the region, such as:

• Amaani Tallawah African Caribbean Mental Health Service
• Awaaz-Asian Mental Health Resource Unit
• Bassetlaw Primary Care Trust
• Community Building Services
• Cooperative Community Action
• Digital Switchover Help Scheme
• Nottingham University Hospitals Patient and Public Involvement
• Sherwood Forest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The morning session begins with a brief dramatised presentation by Amaani Tallawah (whose name means "Peace and Impressive Strength"). This group has been supporting and empowering the African Caribbean community in Nottingham on mental health issues for over 20 years. Right after that we launch into a "World Cafe" consultation (as popularised throughout the region by REDP), involving a mix of practitioners, managers, strategists, service users, patients and their carers. What would appear to be small issues for the NHS can appear insurmountable obstacles to individuals and their families. In these times of straitened circumstances, service providers have to put their heads together and see how to tackle such issues and make the most of their resources, in terms of budgets and personnel.

Leicester Council of Faiths has had a positive and productive association with East Midlands Ambulance Service since I've been in my post: we helped them organise a "Faiths Summit" in Leicester, summer 2008; they paid for part of our exhibition that was created for Inter Faith Week 2009; and as part of REDP, we've been helping EMAS develop their Community Engagement Strategy this year.

Thanks to Nicci Crawford for the photo.

REDP delivery group

Regular Tuesday morning meeting of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) delivery group at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL). Six of us here today, including myself. Main focus of our attention is the latest draft of the Community Engagement Strategy for East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS). We've already seen one version of this, made comments and sent them to EMAS. We'll be doing more of the same with this latest version.

REDP delivery group (1)

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) this morning, for the revivified delivery group of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). As well as me, there's Chino Cabon (The Race Equality Centre - TREC), Tonia Frew (Community Development Officer, LGBT Centre), Liz Harrison (Equality Officer, LCIL/REDP), Kelly Jusab (REDP) and Carolyn Pasco (Researcher, REDP). We work on main items in particular: a response to the East Midlands Ambulance Service Community Engagement Strategy; a programme of training based on the Equality Act 2010; and the latest statistical-based research on issues of equality, diversity and human rights in the region, carried out by Carolyn.

After lunch, we swap Chino for Iris Lightfoote, Carolyn for Laura Horton - and we concentrate on Terms of Reference, Code of Conduct and Criteria for Membership of REDP's Core Reference Group.

EAST MIDLANDS AMBULANCE SERVICE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY: 2

To Nottingham this afternoon, with Laura Horton (REDP Project Manager) to take part in a Community Engagment Strategy Working Group with East Midlands Ambulance Service. This is the follow up to an earlier meeting on 24 March. A much smaller group this time makes this meeting more manageable, positive and fruitful than the first as we work our way together through the 29-page draft strategy document. Like so many of these documents, the level and style of language may benefit from a little adjustment. For example, a "robust feedback loop and reality checking mechanism" sounds like something you'd find on the console of the TARDIS.

REDP INVOLVEMENT EVENT: LOUGHBOROUGH

To Loughborough Town Hall, for the fourth of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership's "Involvement Events" spread across the East Midlands over seven weeks. We're getting the hang of these meetings nicely now and are able to be pretty laid back and relaxed about them. That's helping bring out the best in other attendees, I would say. I chair the morning session, in which Iris Lightfoote from The Race Equality Centre (TREC) presents the Beginners' Guide to REDP. then we go turn about in the afternoon when Iris chairs and I do a presentation on the new Single Equality Bill. We get some lively and informed engagement from the audience, which helps the whole thing go with a bit of a swing.


I take the opportunity today to pass on one of the Council of Faiths' "generic" banners to Gulnaz from East Midlands Ambulance Service. EMAS made a contribution to the cost of our new exhibition and their logo is on each one of the banners. This one will go on permanent display, touring ambulance stations in Leicester and Leicestershire.


Our guest speaker this afternoon is Vidar Hjarding, Diversity Manager for ITV News Group. Vidar himself is blind.

electronic rights

Phone call this morning from friend and colleague, Maureen Sier in Glasgow. Maureen is Interfaith Development Officer for the Scottish Government (that's her speaking at the launch of National Inter Faith Week for Leicester and Leicestershire, Mon 16 Nov at County Hall, Glenfield). One of the local authorities in Scotland with which she's been working is interested in purchasing the rights to the leaflets and banners that Leicester Council of Faiths has produced and adapting it for use in their own area. We're able to sell the electronic rights to the leaflets, which allows the purchaser to adapt it to their own circumstances. We estimated the cost of the leaflets to be around £10,000 all in. We sell the eletronic rights for a mere £450. The advantages in buying these texts from the Council of Faiths is that:

• all the research and writing has been done;
• the treatment given to the faiths arises from questions asked of, or asked by, professional contacts;
• the writing is in a consistent tone or voice;
• all eight member faith communities are treated in an even-handed manner;
• copy is provided in easily digestible chunks;
• an equal amount of copy is devoted to each faith and to each topic;
• the language is "outward-facing" (i.e. not for practitioners of the faiths, talking about themselves to themselves);
• the material is focused on practical issues that might arise on a day-to-day basis;
• it's been contributed to by practising, knowledgeable and experienced members of faith communities;
• it's been approved by authoritative representatives of faith communities

Anyone buying the texts like this has the rights for multiple use, and is free to amend it to different purposes and circumstances without coming back to the Council of Faiths for further permission. All we ask is that the purchaser doesn't resell or gift the rights to anyone else and that they give a simple line credit to say that the items using the text are based on material orginally produced by Leicester Council of Faiths.

So far, these electronic rights have been bought by East Midlands Ambulance Service, Leicestershire Constabulary and Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust.

That slogan, "We have faith in Leicester!" is very adaptable.

INTER FAITH WEEK 2009: IT'S ALL OVER NOW

Here we are on Sunday 22 November, a day of hard-won ease and reflection (which is the decorous way of saying it's been a day of flaking out). Nevertheless, today offers me the chance to present a few interesting facts and figures to round off our exhibition in Highcross for National Inter Faith Week 2009 and to offer a well-deserved thanks to all those people who played their part in making this event a success.

There were 99 individual slots on the rota; we had volunteers for 98 of those slots before the week started - though that one last elusive slot (between 4 and 6 on Wednesday afternoon) seemed determined to remain unfilled.

We gave out freebies (leaflets, bookmark, keyring, sticker) only to people who stopped (or slowed down) long enough to show their interest in the display; by the end of the week, we'd given away around 900 leaflets to such people.

We had a total of 57 different people volunteering on the stall across the week (59 if you count my children helping put it up on the first day, but I volunteered them!) This, in itself, was a testimony to the unity and diversity in action, right in front of the people of Leicester.

Highcross management told us to expect up to 400,000 "footfalls" over the course of the week; there was no way to count this, but I'm willing to to take their word for it!

So, thanks to all those who helped put up the exhibition, helped take it down and helped keep it going at all times in between: Ros Adam, Imran Ali, Dana Bagshaw, Grace Ballentyne, Harry Ballentyne, Irshad Baqui, Michelle Benn, Denise Bergman, Sumaya Budkovska, Raheema Caratella, Clare Carr, Rohini Corfield, Minou Cortazzi, Judith Devons, Amanda Fitton, Hannah Fitton, Monica Glover, Zee Zee Heine, Derek Hood, Doreen Hood, Laura Horton, David Hurwich, Farida Ijaz, Humeyra Seylan Izhar, Angela Jagger, Penny Jones, Kirti Joshi, Susthama Kim, Gwyneth Little, Jan Macdonald, Scott Macdonald, Lizzie Maitland, Sheila Markham, Ramesh Mashru, Stephanie Maud, Barry Naylor, Tony Nelson, Jai Parmar, Surinder Sandhu, Maureen Sier, Noel Singh, Ian Snaith, Manjula Sood, Chris Starbuck, Sudana, Gursharan Thandi, Kaspalita Thompson, Narendra Waghela, Abdul Waheed, Elizabeth Wayne, Simon Williams, Liz Wilson, Arthur Winner, Barbara Winner, Teresa Wright. If I have missed anyone out, my apologies - I'll keep updating this until everyone who should be included is included. Thanks to the management people at Highcross (Michael Holland, Suzie Wood and Steve Farmer) who were generous and helpful beyond all expectation. Thanks to Mukesh Barot and Melanie Wright at East Midlands Ambulance Service for organising their contribution toward the cost of the display; to the Faiths Forum for the East Midlands for their financial contribution too; Jason King, Alistair Bell and their team at printing.com in Charles Street for speedy, efficient, sympathetic and creative service in getting the display and website ready on time; to Gloria Jean's Coffee, for providing a safe haven (even that one day when I managed to tip half a regular latte all over my hand!) Their iced Bakewell tart saved my day more than once. And last but not least, an enormous vote of thanks to Julie-Ann Heath. If it weren't for Julie-Ann and her powers of gentle persuasion - which she worked on me as much as on anyone else - none of this would have happened.

I thought of doing this blog, just to cover this week. Should I continue? I think I will, for a while at least ...