Demonstrating our commitments – The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

LGBTQ+ Inclusion

We proudly support the Rainbow Badge Scheme

The NHS Rainbow Badge, created by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, in partnership with Evelina London Children’s Hospital, is worn by NHS staff who have pledged to reduce inequalities and provide support and signposting to LGBTQ+ people.

Staff are committing to offering open and non-judgmental support and care, regardless of how people identify themselves. Many staff wear their badge with pride, whether a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or an ally.

Whether you are an inpatient, outpatient, staff member or visitor, you can raise concerns or ask questions of badge wearers who will advise on how to access the right support.

We also have a number of gender-neutral toilets across our organisation so everyone can feel welcome and comfortable when using our facilities. See here for further details and locations (map coming soon).

Support and advice

If you would like to highlight areas for improvement, or make a suggestion on what resources could be in place for LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and staff, please submit your thoughts to rwh-tr.lgbtemployeevoicegroup@nhs.net.

Our anti-racism statement

We are taking steps to stamp out racism within the workplace and are Race Code accredited to 31 October 2024.

We are committed to providing outstanding care to patients and meeting the needs of our richly diverse communities. This means we must acknowledge the experiences of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues, patients and partners and how they are impacted by racism.

Antiracism is defined as “opposed to or intended to prevent racism.” With this in mind, we are proactively working to eliminate racism within our organisations, policies and day-to-day practices. Information gathered from different data sources – including anonymised NHS Staff Survey and Freedom to Speak Up Guardians reports – suggests that sadly work still needs to be done to stamp out poor behaviour and to support staff, at all levels, to identify and address racist attitudes.

To demonstrate our commitment to eradicating racism within the workplace, we will take the following actions:

Create opportunities to learn about the experiences of colleagues, patients and partners from different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities
Eliminate ‘bystanderism’ – the act of not intervening despite awareness of another person’s needs – by providing training on what to do when racism occurs, while ensuring robust reporting and escalation processes are in place
Review and update recruitment practices to ensure every talented colleague has a route to develop and progress
Develop a joint antiracist behavioural framework aligned to our vision and values
Run ‘Diverse Reverse Mentoring’ programmes – enabling senior leaders to be mentored by someone with a different lived experience
Develop ‘allyship awareness’ training – ensuring staff promote the culture of inclusion and stand up against racism
Promote antiracism throughout the year, not just for key campaigns
Identify an antiracism Board Sponsor
Develop workforce race equality dashboard reports for teams and departments
Look out how we can ensure diversity amongst senior leader roles and at Board level
Utilise Trust policies and procedures to address unacceptable behaviours in the workplace

By embedding these ways of working, we can hope to further improve the health and wellbeing of the vibrant and multicultural communities we serve.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Two Ticks status is awarded by Jobcentre Plus to organisations and employers who can demonstrate the following five commitments:

To interview all disabled job applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy, and to consider them on their abilities
To ask disabled employees, at least once a year, what can be done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities at work
To make every effort to keep staff in their jobs should they become disabled.
To ensure that employees develop the awareness needed to make the commitments work
To review these commitments annually, to plan improvement and to tell employees about achievement and future plans

More information is available on the GOV.UK website

Supporting our Armed Forces community

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has been accredited as Veteran Aware in recognition of our commitment to improving NHS care for the Armed Forces community, including regular and reservist personnel, veterans, spouses, partners, children, dependents, and the bereaved.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who serve, or have served, in the Armed Forces, along with their families, should be treated fairly. It is a promise that they should not be disadvantaged because of their service. It is a recognition of the sacrifices they make on our behalf, and the responsibilities we owe them in return.

As part of our commitment we will ensure that the Armed Forces community enjoys the same standard of, and access to healthcare as that received by any other UK citizen in the area they live, and do not experience disadvantage as a result of their time in service.

What you can expect from us:

We are committed to ensuring no disadvantage and to giving special consideration where appropriate
We have educated and trained all relevant staff to identify and respond to the specific needs of the Armed Forces Community
We support the UK Armed Forces Community as an employer

Further information and resources:

Step into Health (Working for the NHS)
The NHS benefits significantly from the skills and experience of the Armed Forces Community, and Veteran Aware organisations support the employment of this community in the NHS. Find out more about careers in the NHS at Military Step into Health

Veterans’ Gateway
First point of contact for veterans and their families providing information, advice and support. 0808 802 1212 or text 81212 or visit the Veterans’ Gateway website

SSAFA
Welfare, health and support services, for the UK military’s serving personnel, veterans, and their families. 0800 731 4880 or visit the SSAFA website

Royal British Legion
Welfare, health and support services, for the UK military’s serving personnel, veterans, and their families. 0808 802 8080 or visit the British Legion website

NHS Veterans’ Trauma Network
Provides specialist care to veterans with physical injuries related to their time in service. For more information please visit NHS – Veterans, service leavers, and non-mobilised reservists

NHS OP Courage – Veterans’ Mental Health and Wellbeing Service
OP Courage is for serving personnel approaching discharge, and for veterans. The service provides a range of treatment, from access to early support, to therapeutic treatment for complex mental health difficulties, and psychological trauma. For more information, please visit NHS – Mental health support for veterans, service leavers and reservists