Lead Organisation: North Wales Public Sector Equality Network
The North Wales Public Sector Equality Network (NWPSEN) held a Stakeholder Engagement Event on 24th May 2018. The network includes the health board, six local councils, Police, Ambulance Services, Fire and Rescue Services and others.
The report includes feedback about the 6 equality objectives:
- Address inequalities in health
- Address inequalities in education
- Address inequalities in employment and pay
- Address inequalities in personal safety
- Address inequalities in representation and voice
- Address inequalities in access to information, services, buildings and the environment.
Key messages for health and social care services from the event include:
- The need to tackle heath inequalities, particularly related to poverty. Social prescribing and the important role of third sector organisations were highlighted as opportunities to help.
- Support staff by tackling hate crime related to their jobs.
- Raise awareness to help identify and address mental health needs of people who have experienced domestic abuse or modern slavery.
- Make sure buildings are accessible and provide alternatives to public waiting rooms for people who need them.
- Be more ‘deaf-aware’ and support staff to learn and use basic British Sign Language (BSL).
- Move away from the medical model to the social model of disability, improve the use of language in relation to disabled people and the use of positive images, for example of older people.
Services mentioned as needing improvement were:
- Support for people living with neurological conditions, recognition and diagnosis of Aspergers and address late diagnosis of autism in women.
- Support for people with brain injury.
- Mental health services for older people that don’t just focus on dementia and health needs for older people that are not just related to ageing.
- Better health provision for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, such as vaccination and screening.
- Gender identity pathway implementation
- Safeguarding including addressing elder abuse, domestic abuse, cyber crime, hate crime and telephone fraud.
- Need for regular reviews of support for carers.
- Need for more choice around accommodation for people with cognitive impairments.
Participants also shared that services needed to work together better, share information and to improve the gathering of patient stories and experiences as evidence to help address inequalities. They also stressed the importance of providing feedback about the difference that consultation and engagement is making.
The full report is available on the health board website.
