WINS Equal at Work seminar Friday 1st September 2006

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• WINS Equal at Work seminar Friday 1st September
  2006
• Diversity management initiatives in the health
  sector Aoife O Riordan and Bridget McGuane

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Content

• Legislative and policy context of Equality
• and Diversity in the health services.
• Health sector site of the Equal at
• Work Project.
• Managing Intercultural working in
• the health services.

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• Legislative and Policy context of Equality and
  Diversity in the health services

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Legislative Context

• The legal framework for equal opportunities is as
  follows
• The Employment Equality Act, 1998 to 2004
• Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004
• Disability Act 2005

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Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2004

• The foundation for equality in the work place is
  the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004.
• The EEA prohibits discrimination and harassment
  on 9 grounds
• Gender - Disability
• Marital status - Race
• Family status - Membership of the Traveller
• Sexual orientation Community
• Religion - Age

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Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2004

• Promotes Equality
• Prohibits discrimination (with some exemptions)
  across nine grounds
• Prohibits sexual harassment and harassment
• Prohibits victimisation
• Requires appropriate measures for people with
  disabilities in relation to access, participation
  and training in employment
• Allows positive action measures to ensure full
  equality in practice across the nine grounds.

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Employment Equality Acts - scope

• Remuneration equal pay
• Access to employment recruitment selection
• Conditions of employment
• Sexual Harassment Harassment Dignity at Work
• Training, work experience and promotion

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Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004

• Promotes Equality and prohibits discrimination
  and harassment in relation to the provision of
  services
• Prohibits certain kinds of discrimination (with
  some exemptions) across nine grounds
• Prohibits sexual harassment and harassment
• Prohibits victimisation
• Requires reasonable accommodation of people with
  disabilities
• Allows a broad range of positive action measures.

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Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004

• The Acts apply to people who
• Buy and sell a wide variety of goods
• Use or provide a wide range of services
• Obtain or dispose of accommodation
• Attend at or are in charge of educational
  establishments.

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Disability Act 2005

• The Disability Act 2005, which was enacted July
  2005, is a positive action measure designed to
  advance and underpin the participation of people
  with disabilities in everyday life.
• It establishes a statutory basis for
• an independent assessment of individual needs, a
  related service statement and independent redress
  and enforcement on 9 grounds.
• access to public buildings, services and
  information.
• Sect oral Plans for six key Departments which
  will ensure that access for people with
  disabilities will become an integral part of
  service planning and provision.
• an obligation on public bodies to be pro-active
  in employing people with disabilities.
• restricting the use of information from genetic
  testing for employment, mortgage and insurance
  purposes.
•  

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• Health sector wide initiatives promoted by
  national Equal Opportunities/Divesity Steering
  Group

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Context

• National Health Strategy Quality and Fairness -
  A Health Service for You (2002)
• Action Plan for People Management
• Commitments under Social Partnership
• The National Disability Strategy
• Department of Health and Children Sectoral Plan
  under Disability Act 2005

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Employment Equality Act initiatives

• Equal Opportunities/ Accomodating Diversity
  Strategy and Action Plan issued in May 2004 and
  covers all aspects of employment
• Mainstreaming Equality/ Diversity Training in
  health service
• A Guide to Equal Opportunities / Accommodating
  Diversity training pack including guidelines for
  managers, video and CD- Rom which aim to assist
  managers in discharging their obligations under
  the equality legislation
• Module on Equal Opportunities in the training
  programme People Management The Legal
  Framework.

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Employment Equality Act initiatives

• Develop tools to assist line managers in the
  equal opportunities/ diversity aspect of their
  people management role
• Guidelines on the Recruitment of Non-EEA
  Nationals under the Work Permits and Working Visa
  / Work Authorisation Schemes
• Guidelines on the equal opportunities aspects of
  the recruitment and selection process.

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Dignity at work/anti harassment initiativ

• Dignity at Work Policy for the Health Services
• Publication and circulation of Dignity at Work
  Policy for Health Service
• Module on Dignity at Work in the training
  programme People Management The Legal Framework
• Guidelines on the appointment and role of Support
  Contact Persons

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Disability Act initiatives

• Best Practice Guidelines - Guidelines on the
  Employment of People with Disabilities
• Development of Strategy and Action Plan for the
  Employment of People with Disabilities

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• Health sector site of the Equal at Work Project

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Context of the site

• Aim To support the promotion, recruitment and
  progression of a diverse workforce in the health
  services in the Dublin region through developing
  initiatives to promote equality of opportunity.
• Partners
• Acute hospitals AMNCH, SJH and CHB.
• Primary and community HSE Dublin North.
• Paediatrics hospital CUH Temple Street.
• Intellectual Disability Sector Stewarts
  Hospital.
• HSE Corporate HSE Employers Agency and HSE HR
  Section.
• External NDA, Eve Enterprises and NLN

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St. Jamess Hospital

• Aim
• To ensure best practice in recruitment, selection
  and progression, with particular reference to
  minority ethnic workers.
• Actions
• Audit of recruitment, selection and progression
  policies.
• Review competency based interviewing.
• Programme of actions to address identified
  barriers.
• Process report and case study.
• Progress
• Audit completed.
• Action planning in progress at present.

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Childrens University Hospital, Temple St.

• Aim
• To implement a model of Universal Accessibility
  in order to create conditions for staff with
  disabilities to develop their potential and make
  a full contribution in the workplace.
• Actions
• Accessibility audit at the existing CUH campus on
  Temple Street in order to identify barriers.
• Guidance on designing new health sector buildings
  to ensure Universal Accessibility.
• Process report and case study.
• Progress Audit in progress

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AMNCH, Tallaght

• Aim
• To ensure that recruitment, selection and
  progression policies and practices at the AMNCH
  are equality proofed in respect of older workers.
  
• Actions
• Audit of recruitment, selection and progression
  policies.
• Programme of actions to address identified
  barriers.
• Process report and case study of tools developed
  and piloted to address
  barriers.
• Progress Audit and research in progress.

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Stewarts Hospital

• Aim
• To equality proof all aspects of human resource
  management.
• Actions
• Audit of all employment practices, policies
  procedures.
• Programme of actions to address barriers.
• Process report and case study.
• Progress Review commencing.

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• Managing intercultural working in the health
  services

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Context

• Skills shortages in nursing exacerbated by
• change in education programmes.
• Skills shortages in Allied Health professions.
• Increased number of overseas medical
• students.
• Access of EU accession states to Irish
• labour market- support professions.

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National initiatives- Nursing Workforce Planning
Project

• Concentration on statutory sector.
• Intercultural working aspects
• Co-ordination of recent overseas recruitment
  drives from India and Phillipines.
• Developing best practice in integrating staff
  across hospitals in the statutory sector.

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National Projects- National Therapy Professions
Workforce Planning Project

• Physiotherapy, SL Therapy and OT Professions.
• Current effort focused on co-ordination of
• overseas recruitment efforts.
• Plans to develop implement measures focusing on
• integrating an intercultural workforce.

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National Development- Intercultural Strategy

• National Intercultural Strategy- will need to
  incorporate service and employment aspects.
• Report Learning, training and development needs
  of
• health services staff in delivering services
  to members of
• minority ethnic communities.
• Current programme addressing capacity building
• of staff
• Primary, maternity, paediatric and acute
  settings.
• Includes training for staff in delivering care
  and managers in managing diversity in service
  delivery.
• Report recognised the need to explore
  intercultural working
• further- taken up by Equal Project.
• Potetnial to implement the outcomes of the Equal
  project across other settings.

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Intercultural working initiatives currently in
place

• Induction and Adaptation initiatives for new
  arrivals.
• Adatpation programme for current employees-
• Nursing and Midwifery sector.
• Supervised placements.
• Examples of training for managers in managing
• intercultural teams- mainly in Nursing
  Midwifery.
• Preceptorship programme in Nursing Midwifery.
• Some specific intercultural interventions with
  teams.

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Connolly Hospital and HSE Dublin North

• Sites
• Connolly Hospital- three wards including.
• HSE Dublin NE- primary/community settings and a
  community nursing unit.
• Aim
• To ensure the effective intercultural working of
  staff from culturally, ethnically and spiritually
  diverse backgrounds.
• Actions
• Research among multicultural staff and managers.
• Interviews with key external stakeholders.
• Profiling of current practice.
• International examples.
• Identification of key actions.

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Provisional initiatives identified within the
Equal Project

• Recruitment/induction.
• Intercultual training and communication.
• Workplace support structures.