We want to make sure we hear from all the people and communities in Calderdale – everyone’s opinions matter. We understand that the way we ask for people to share their views can make a big difference to who responds so we ensure we design our patient experience and engagement processes with this in mind. We also use equality monitoring to assess the representativeness of the views we have gathered and where there are gaps or we identify trends in opinion, these are looked into and plans made to address them.

How we involve our communities is a key consideration for any engagement or consultation. We work with equality colleagues who tell us, who we need to involve to ensure services meet the needs of the local population. 

As part of a two year action plan informed by the Equality Delivery System (EDS) our aim has been to improve our reach with a particular focus on certain groups or people who are currently under-represented. The CCG continue to build on the work we started in 2017/18. Our objectives were to:

• Actively work with LGBTQ networks and encourage a stronger voice for this sector by engaging organisations and networks that can help us to do this.
• Actively involve young people aged between 12-25 years old to understand their experience of their local GP practice.
• Continue to deliver Engagement champions to our local community and to continually expand on the network of community experts to increase voice and representation.
• Actively work with unpaid carer and BME networks to encourage a stronger voice for these sectors by engaging organisations and networks that can help us to do this. (For details, view our Improving engagement with specific equality groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) communities, and unpaid carers report.)

So far the work has helped us to improve our reach into the identified communities.

As an organisation the equality agenda is critical to our success and is reinforced by ourvisions and values. We work to understand the communities we serve and make betterdecisions ensuring the services we plan and buy meet the needs of the population of Calderdale.  Calderdale Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) 2021 provides evidence of our compliance and demonstrates our commitment to equality and inclusion.

You find out more on the Equality and Diversity page of our website.