Please view our latest Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Report for 2021

The NHS Equality and Diversity Council announced on July 31 2014 that it had agreed action to ensure employees from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have equal access to career opportunities and receive fair treatment in the workplace.

NHS England have mandated WRES for all NHS commissioners (and their larger provider partner organisations where the combined contract value exceeds £200K pa) from April 2015.

Workforce ethnicity data at 1 April 2015 and annually, is gathered, scrutinised and publicly displayed into the NHS England reporting template onto Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (M&LCSU) website by 1 July 2015 and annually by 1 April thereafter.

There are 9 Indicators or metrics which can be found within the reporting template and within the latest NHS England Technical Guidance document.

Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, said: “The Five Year Forward View sets out a direction of travel for the NHS – much of which depends on the health service embracing innovation, engaging and respecting staff, and drawing on the immense talent in our workforce.

“We know that care is far more likely to meet the needs of all the patients we’re here to serve when NHS leadership is drawn from diverse communities across the country, and when all our frontline staff are themselves free from discrimination. These new mandatory standards will help NHS organisations to achieve these important goals.”

Roger Kline, Research Fellow at Middlesex University Business School, who led the development of the standard, said: “The evidence is clear that treating all healthcare staff fairly and with respect is good for patient care. When black and minority ethnic staff, who make up a large minority of nurses, doctors and other NHS staff, are treated fairly it improves patient experience and patient safety. The Workforce Race Equality Standard encourages, and where necessary requires, all NHS providers to treat all black and minority ethnic staff fairly and ensure their full talents are used. It is good news for patients and for staff that NHS organisations have adopted this ground breaking evidence-based approach”.

WRES Reporting Template 2015

Implementation of the WRES is a requirement on both NHS commissioners and NHS larger provider organisations. (In light of the inclusion of WRES in the NHS standard contract and in the CCG Assurance Framework, NHS organisations should use the WRES Reporting Template 2015 to respond to the WRES metrics.)

MLCSU Executive Team WRES Statement of Commitment

The WRES technical guidance document and all other WRES resources are available on the NHS England WRES webpage.

If you have any queries, please contact equality.inclusion@nhs.net at MLCSU.