HEE Deans' Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2022

Executive Summary

The murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota caused a global outcry and triggered worldwide protests.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the poorer outcomes for black and Asian ethnic individuals as well as the historic issues of differential attainment within Postgraduate Medical Education and training it was time to act.

In 2020 Health Education England (HEE) Postgraduate Medical Deans established an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee to consider all of the issues raised in multi-professional education and training via HEE’s Quality Framework.

As Postgraduate Medical Education and Training is a specific delivery responsibility, specific attention is being given here.

We wrote to and invited feedback from our trainees and learners to understand better their experience. Many respondents commented that the NHS workforce did not represent the diversity of the UK population. A lack of diversity was reported in Educational Supervisors, ARCP panels and both HEE and Royal College senior faculty.

On 26 May 2021, just after the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, we held our inaugural EDI Learner Assembly, designed for trainees to meet, discuss and work with HEE nationally to raise and address concerns around equality and inclusion. We heard a range of experiences and personal stories which gave an opportunity to learn and reflect. The EDI Learner Assembly will continue to provide a platform for trainees and educators to be heard directly at HEE National, ensuring the values of EDI remain integral to our policy and quality.

We have also undertaken work to deliver a toolkit style resource, the ‘Find Your Way Guide’ aimed at all learners. The resource will support disabled learners and those living with long-term conditions, including the long-term effects of COVID-19 navigate help and support as they transition from learning into work. This includes information on Student Disability Finance, accessing the Access to Work scheme and other ways of being enabled in the workplace.

Using our information from all data sources including the Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard (MWRES) report we are beginning to understand what we do well, what we have yet to do and have a plan that we will do our utmost to deliver.

Differential Attainment is one aspect of this complex issue, and we will work on improving outcomes. We will also try and understand the impact of gender and race on pay and consider intersectionality as a real and distinct problem.

We will report on our progress annually.

Published January 2022