Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: A Statement of Strategic Intent

This statement represents the first step towards a joint Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy which will be launched in 2024.  As the independent inspectorates and regulators of healthcare, social care and childcare in Wales, we work to improve the quality and safety of these services for the people of Wales.

We want to help improve people’s access to and the quality of their experience of these services. We believe that ensuring we have a strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusion within our work will support us to achieve this aim.

As inspectorates and regulators, we will:

• Strengthen the focus on equality and diversity in our work and where we find inequalities we will challenge and report on this.
  We will embed equality, diversity and inclusion in our work, to drive improvements in the delivery of healthcare, social care and childcare services for people who share one or more of the protected characteristics.
• Improve our engagement with diverse communities so they have a strong voice and influence in our work. 
  We will increase our understanding of the experiences of people who share one or more of the protected characteristics to inform our decision-making.
• Build our organisations so they are inclusive and representative. 
  We will build a more diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We will support our workforce to flourish and thrive whatever their background in fair and inclusive workplaces. We will invest in developing the skills and knowledge of our staff and create learning cultures to enable us to evaluate and challenge our understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Chief Executive of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Alun Jones said:

Inequality should play no part in how services are designed or delivered. We recognise the important role our organisations play within these sectors and the wide-reaching nature of both areas for so many people across Wales. We will call out and challenge inequality in services wherever we find it, to ensure fairer and better outcomes for people.

CIW, Chief Inspector Gillian Baranski said:

With this statement of strategic intent, we reaffirm our commitment to challenge ourselves and the sectors we work with, to be more equal, more diverse and more inclusive in the way we work and the way in which healthcare, social care and childcare is provided.