Diversity isn’t a box to check, it is a strength to build upon which makes us better.
We have a responsibility to our staff, our partners and patients to ensure that we are being diverse, equitable and inclusive.
Equity, diversity and inclusion is a key foundation for creating a caring, efficient and productive healthcare service. If we want to address health inequalities, we need to identify barriers and biases and embrace and adopt great ideas from individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences.
Being inclusive is a mindset. It is a way to treat others and the way they treat us. Inclusion is an opportunity to learn from one another. And we do it because it is the right thing to do. Period.
Lisa Friedman, disability inclusion expert
At Health Innovation East our aim is to continuously strive to be an organisation where people take action to create a culture that feels safe and inclusive for all. To demonstrate our national commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture through our work, the Health Innovation Network has made three diversity pledges. Health Innovation East has adopted and embraced these pledges.
Pledge 1: Our organisation
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is fundamental to our core values, ensuring a positive and supportive culture, where all staff and communities feel empowered and respected.
- We have set annual EDI objectives which enhance our organisation’s performance, report to our boards and transparently publish our progress.
- We champion best practice EDI and establish processes to address challenges and opportunities.
- We embed EDI in our programmes and influence stakeholders and suppliers. ensuring EDI is embedded in implementation, procurement and commissioning decisions.
- We have updated our policies and employee handbook to better support colleagues.
Pledge 2: Our staff
Empowering and supporting our staff to be positive role models for EDI is essential to reach our collective ambition.
- We have become a Disability Confident Committed employer to take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
- We encourage our staff to be active allies and positively challenge when they see discrimination, non-inclusive behaviour or a lack of diversity.
- We support our staff with ongoing EDI training and activities to foster an inclusive culture.
- We have facilitated various lunch and learn sessions to support greater understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion issues.
Pledge 3: Our work
Our work aims to benefit all communities and reduce health inequalities, supporting Core20PLUS5 and other equality initiatives.
- We carry out Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessments on national and key local projects.
- We involve diverse and underserved communities and co-produce innovations that are relevant, accessible and work to reduce health inequalities.
- We promote diverse role models, challenge stereotypes and champion the positive impact of diversity on innovation in our communications.
Read the Health Innovation Network report ‘Diversity and innovation – a celebration of BAME innovators and our pledges to do more’ which shares the stories of innovators from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and sets out pledges by the AHSN Network to further support the diversity and innovation agenda.
Access the report here.
Read the ‘Diversity and innovation progress and learning report – reflecting on and continuing our mission’ here.
We spoke to Dr Jason Mellad, CEO and co-founder of Start Codon, about why businesses should be embracing input from people with different backgrounds to produce better ideas and outcomes.
Why diversity in innovation matters – Richard Stubbs
We will not succeed in addressing health inequalities without diverse innovators… who can develop and support solutions that enable the inclusion of all members of our society.