Recommendation 19

HM Government Accepted

56. NHS staff should feel safe at work in an environment free of racism and discrimination. Every NHS organisation has a duty to protect staff from racism, sexism and religious hatred and will have their own policies and procedures around this. The NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan sets out targeted actions for organisations to address prejudice and discrimination at work, with an aim to ensure all staff feel safe to speak up and report abusive or discriminatory behaviours through their employer’s reporting channels. 57. Creating a compassionate and inclusive culture which supports NHS staff to deliver compassionate care requires a clear vision and proactive action at a local level. To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving staff experience by tackling the issues that matter to staff. They are likely to focus on areas such as improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism and sexual harassment in the NHS workforce. They will provide a framework for leaders across the NHS to improve staff experience. 58. We know that our healthcare status quo is not working for anyone, and that business as usual is particularly failing women across the country. Some groups of women are being failed most of all, included women from some ethnic minority backgrounds. Our renewed Women’s Health Strategy recognises this and sets out actions to address these challenges. These include: a. A central theme to ensure women’s voices and choices are heard and acted on at all levels in the health system. b. Supporting women to make informed, confident reproductive choices is fundamental to ensuring they are heard and empowered – as well as for health and reducing inequalities. 59. The strategy includes specific actions designed to improve the experiences of minority groups within healthcare such as a commitment to publish guidance on equity good practice to enable Integrated Care Boards to better understand and reduce inequalities in heavy periods and menopause. These conditions have been selected as disproportionately affecting women from minority backgrounds and those living in the 20% most deprived areas in England. 60. It also recognises the inequalities that particularly impact minority groups including lower screening rates, health inequalities caused by less physical activity, lengthy gynaecology waiting lists and high maternal mortality rates for Black women. The Renewed Strategy is hardwired to reduce inequalities, embedding in our new care models a focus on reducing health inequalities and giving power to marginalised women, including Muslim women and girls. It will require close and creative local partnerships, anchored by the relationship between the NHS and local councils to design joined-up approaches to meeting the full range of women’s health needs. This will be epitomised by the new neighbourhood health service, with preventative and proactive care delivered for cohorts with similar needs. 61. Our focus is on creating locally designed services shaped by all women’s voices. The strategy will aim to enable services to reflect the needs of women in their local community, including Muslim women and other groups.