Strategic Equality Plan launched to improve service accessibility and acceptance for all

Swansea Bay University Health Board has committed to further improvements in service accessibility and acceptance for all.

We have set out what we want to achieve in We All Belong, a three-year Strategic Equality Plan is based on the views of over 4,500 people, including patients and our staff, on their healthcare experiences.

And throughout May and June in our We All Belong campaign, we will be explaining more about what the plan is, what it means and why belonging is important.

We are committed to recognising everyone whether as a patient, family member or colleague as an individual and helping them to access and feel they belong in our services and our workplace.

But you told us we have more work to do in this area, so our plan sets out the positive steps we are taking in response.

But why does this matter?

You told us that sometimes your differences made it more difficult to access healthcare or to fulfil your potential in our workplace, which can result in poorer physical and mental health.

And this does not just affect a minority. Most people have what is known as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. The nine protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Joanne Abbott-Davies, Assistant Director of Insight, Charity & Engagement, said: “A recent staff survey showed only 69 per cent of staff in Swansea Bay found the health board compassionate and inclusive and only 59 per cent thought the organisation respects individual differences.

“We All Belong is about starting to change that and making sure that we can all live as our authentic selves in an organisation which is compassionate and supportive, while celebrating that which makes every one of us different and unique.

If we improve things for most of us, it will benefit everyone else as well.”

When speaking to the public, patients, families and our staff, we heard how they felt there were barriers to them accessing services because of their protected characteristic(s) and they were made to feel different within our services.Upon hearing this feedback, we are determined to make every single person feel that they belong in all our services – whether as a service user, family member supporting them, or as a member of staff. This also applies to services we commission from other organisations for our population.

The health board is proud of its diverse workforce and champions the experience and skills of its multicultural staff. Indeed, healthcare studies show patients generally fare better when care is provided by more diverse teams.

To understand the community we serve, our analysis found out the following:

• Over half of the population in Swansea Bay are women.
• 1 in 4 people in Swansea Bay have a disability
• 1 in 5 people in Swansea Bay are over 65
• 1 in 7 people in Swansea Bay are children and young people under 16
• 1 in 4 people in Swansea Bay will have problems with their mental health
• 1 in 20 people are from an ethnic minority

Through our Strategic Equality Plan, the health board has prioritised eight areas to concentrate on in 2025-26:

• Embedding equality considerations in all we do
• Addressing those things which will provide benefits across multiple protected characteristic groups
• Anti-Racist Action Plan
• Accessibility Standards
• LGBTQ+ Action Plan
• Women’s Health Plan
• Disability Action Plan
• Pregnancy & Maternity

The health board’s 10-year vision is to become a high-quality organisation, where the best people come to learn and work, with research and services centred on the needs of patients, carers and the population.

This will help keep people healthy, support them to avoid ill health, maintain wellbeing and be there for excellent healthcare when needed. 

Joanne added: “Our priorities are shaped by our 10-year vision, our values and our engagement. The Strategic Equality Plan will be delivered across the health board over the next three years, and we are all responsible for making sure that our commitment to equality, diversity and belonging is at the heart of everything we do.

“To support this we have organised our priorities into three categories - Strategic / Organisational Priority; General Priorities and Protected Characteristic Specific Priorities.

“It won’t be a magic fix, but we can start to make a difference so that Swansea Bay is somewhere we all want to work and where we can make a positive difference to the lives of our patients, our colleagues and ourselves.”