DTF Meeting - 1st October 2004
Present:
Mark Butler, Lynn Anderson, Shazia Ashraf, Susheel Kumar, Kay Barto, Andy Carter, Murray Duncanso, Nancy Kirkland, Gillian Lenaghan, Anne Marshall, Colin McHardy, Alastair Pringle, Lynn Waddell, Mary-Anne Lumsden, Eric Baijal, Tom Laidlaw.
1. Welcome and apologies
Apologies were received from: Peter Bates, Kevin Doran, Rafik Gardee, Alex Killick, Dougie Lockhart, John Perry, Fiona White.
Mark Butler welcomed everyone to the meeting. Some gave a brief opening of how the Equality and Diversity agenda has been promoted in their area.
There was a general consensus that action points relating to the DTF agenda should continue to be distributed to the DTF members. This would then allow members to see at a glance what was actually being done.
Lynn Anderson mentioned that the DTF database was gradually growing with information and it was important to continue to share data. She also stated that the DTF website should be up and running within the next 2 weeks.
Subcommittee Champions provide progress reports:
2. Reward and Recognition
Lynn Waddell reported that this scheme would not be put into practice until 2006 as it was still a relatively new aspect. She did however state that there should be a model available soon and handed out a paper with reference to this and requested feedback. She did indicate that initially each individual board would have their own reward scheme and gradually this would then work towards a national recognition and reward scheme.
3. Information and Intelligence
Lynn Anderson gave an update on this strand of work. The implementation of the SWISS project will allow clear picture of the workforce to be identified. This lead to a discussion about data collection with a particular focus on staff surveys. Some points raised were:
· Improve the number of staff filling in surveys
· analysis of staff survey results should lead to action being taken
· If action taken this should improve the number of bullying/discrimination incidences reported
4. People and Partners
Nancy Kirkland reported that the European Funding process was very bureaucratic and as a result of this was very off putting. She raised the following points:
· It is important for the taskforce to identify where the funding streams are and if we can provide assistance.
· To start with the employer that had decided to withdraw its bid and to try and find out what the barriers were.
· Target people that have used various funding streams and therefore establish what difficulties were encountered and then collate this information together for people that were considering going down the same route.
· Awareness of different funding streams are needed to be made available.
5. Awareness and Appeal
Lynn Anderson spoke about the importance of knowing what the perceptions of the NHS were by the BME communities. The following points were raised:
· Radio programme at the start of December highlighting NHS as an employer for all
· Work is currently underway on a Poster campaign to highlight the Equality and Diversity agenda - this will involve a gradual reveal strategy to draw in the audience
· Communications managers will be involved in ensuring that the posters are visible and in the appropriate places.
· Raise awareness before the actual poster campaign so everyone is involved before it starts
· Evaluate impact of the campaign
6. Leadership and Learning
Alastair Pringle reported on the progress of the online training resource. He mentioned the importance of this online tool being interactive as the user would gain more from it. It would also be beneficial to managers as it is difficult for managers to release staff for long periods of training. It was also stated that it was important for directors of HR to encourage staff to access and complete training courses.
7. Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on the 18th January starting at 9.30 am. The venue is Meridian Court, Room G05/GO6.
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