Anti-racism statement and commitment
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Guy’s and St Thomas' is committed to being an anti-racism organisation which actively tackles racism in all its forms. Our anti-racism statement sets out this commitment for our patients, staff, visitors and partner organisations.
We are working closely with teams across the Trust to develop an ongoing improvement plan which will enable us to deliver on this anti-racism commitment. The plan will build on our existing work and ensure we are held accountable and judged on our progress towards being an actively anti-racism organisation.
No one should be treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin or their ethnic background. We all deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and acknowledged for our value as individuals.
Our anti-racism statement is more than just words, it is the recognition of our responsibility as a healthcare organisation to stop the things that keep racism going.
Racism is recognised across the world as a public health crisis. Racism is when some people are treated unfairly and other people are treated more favourably because of their assigned skin colour or ethnic background. This can happen at an individual level, but the way we work as an organisation and as a society can also lead to the presence of inequalities and discrimination towards whole groups of people. We know racism exists and that it causes harm, distress and has a serious impact on individuals, communities and all in our society.
We define anti-racism as the ongoing process of actively naming, challenging and removing racism. Being ‘not-racist’ is not enough. Anti-racism means working to understand how race and racism affects people, and examining our own beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours.
Anti-racism statement
Guy’s and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an anti-racism organisation. We acknowledge that racial discrimination exists and that this has a profound impact in our own organisation and in the communities that we serve. We therefore take a zero-tolerance approach - challenging and tackling racism in all its forms and reviewing our processes, policies, procedures and behaviours.
We are working to remove systemic racial discrimination and to improve the experience of our staff and all who use our services. We are co-creating an environment where our staff, patients, partners and the public hold us to account for delivery against this commitment. This commitment extends to the relationships we have with our partner organisations.
We are listening to our staff and patients, and for this statement to hold true, we recognise we need to work together to:
- provide strong leadership from the Trust Board and executive team, and support the organisation to deliver the changes required
- be transparent and accountable, and measure our progress and the impact we are having
- ensure genuine zero-tolerance to racism, going beyond what we do now
- recognise that language is ‘political’ and that we need to work harder to connect with people
- go further to recognise the value of ethnic diversity within our workforce and the communities we serve
- ensure inclusion is central to our Trust values and behaviours which shape everything we do for our staff and patients
Equality, diversity and inclusion vision
Our focus on anti-racism is part of the work we are doing on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We will not tolerate racism in any form. This means we will hold ourselves to account by naming racism, being active in stopping all levels of racism and changing our practices to be inclusive and fair.
Our vision is to continue developing a place of excellence that delivers high-quality, innovative care to our communities and to be a place where people feel valued at work.
Our deliberate focus on tackling racism includes addressing the processes and structures which are preventing the behaviour change we need to become an anti-racism organisation. It will help us to look at everything we do through an 'equity lens'.
Next steps
We will be keeping this page up-to-date with information about the progress we are making to deliver the commitments described above and ways you can get involved in this important work.
Contact us
Email: [email protected]
