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Health Education England statement of intent, publicly committing to trans inclusion and equality in support of the trans and non-binary community.
14 November 2022
Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive, Health Education England commits Health Education England to the below statement of intent:
All human rights are compromised if any one group is excluded. We are at our best when we stand together, and we all have a role in ensuring our NHS is a place where all our citizens are treated with respect, dignity, and compassion.
In recent months, the public debate around trans and non-binary rights has intensified. As HEE’s leadership, we have growing concerns about the hostility that trans and non-binary staff & patients are experiencing.
A fundamental promise of the NHS is that we exist for all and we have a duty of care to all. It is crucial that everyone, including trans and non-binary people, feel respected, safe and receive an equal level of care. As a healthcare organisation we want to reiterate our commitment to implementing the spirit and the letter of the Equality Act - by striving to create an NHS that is fair and truly inclusive.
Diversity and inclusion is of great importance to us, not only morally, but also in a business sense, because inequalities in healthcare organisations are likely to be reflected in our work and adversely impact the populations we serve. Being inclusive is essential to enabling us to attract the best talent and provide the best possible care for the people we serve - our patients.
LGBTQI+ charities and the organisations that support them have also seen increased hostility, with much of it focused on the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme. Many organisations in health and care have found Stonewall helpful as a way of developing a sense of belonging and inclusion for LGBTQI+ staff, and in HEE we welcome the support Stonewall provides us to help achieve this aim.
Now, more than ever, is the time to educate ourselves and others to become active trans and non-binary allies. Within HEE, we have been making consistent efforts to understand and appreciate the experience of our trans and non-binary colleagues. We are having conversations, developing our own understanding, and continuing our learning. We have made progress, but we have a long way to go on our journey. We are confident that this is the only right way forward that reflects our values and the values of the wider NHS.
We stand with the trans and non-binary community.
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