Trust looks for help with race equality scheme

 4^th July 2002

West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust is appealing to people from ethnic minority backgrounds to help shape the services it provides.

The trust’s board has recently approved the organisation’s Race Equality Scheme which sets out its duty to provide a fair and accessible service and promote equal opportunities in employment.

Now the trust is looking for people from different ethnic backgrounds to volunteer to help to ensure that it is meeting their needs.

“This is about treating everyone as an individual, whether they are a patient, visitor or member of staff,” said Jan Bloomfield the trust’s director of human resources. “One way of making sure we achieve this is by having input from people of all different backgrounds.”

The trust has put out a call for volunteers because of the difficulty it has had in finding people who can provide the point of view of different ethnic backgrounds.

“The number of residents in our area who belong to ethnic groups is very small and, therefore, established group representatives are not available for us to link with,” said Mrs Bloomfield. “I hope that individuals who have an interest in ensuring that local health care meets their needs will come forward to play a role helping to shape our services.”

Anyone who is interested in helping the trust can contact Jan Bloomfield on 01284 713794.