Equality Champions Network

The College held the first meeting of the Equality Champions Network in October, bringing together executive committee members from the Faculties, Divisions and Devolved Nations.

The role of the Equality Champion is to engage in local initiatives to promote equality and equity and to help deliver the College’s Equality Action Plan, published in January 2021. The aim is to support improvements in access, experience, and outcomes for our patients, reducing the inequalities that we know exist, and to build a diverse and inclusive workforce, where every person is supported to achieve their potential.

Presidential Leads for Race and Equality, Dr Lade Smith and Dr Raj Mohan, who oversee the network, were delighted to welcome the Champions and reinforced the principles of co-production and an evidence-based approach that will guide this work.

Lade said:

"Since this work started in July last year, we have had so many people contact us to ask what they can do to help. Bringing together this diverse group of members with such rich and varied expertise across a range of areas and passion to influence positive change, will not only help us work towards our goals to improve mental health care by reducing all forms of inequality and discrimination but also creates a wonderful opportunity for us to share work and learn together in what is a fast-moving and ever-changing area.

"Over the coming months we will be building the foundations that will help us identify and agree our priorities for 2022."

If you want to contact your local Equality Champion, please refer to our list of representatives.

There are still a number of vacancies (North West Division; Academic Faculty; Eating Disorders Faculty and Intellectual Disability Faculty) so please also get in touch with the relevant Chair or Manager if you are interested in these positions in the network.

In addition to Equality Champions, the College is also establishing a network of Wellbeing and Sustainability Champions, with some vacancies still available. If you are interested in becoming a Wellbeing Champion please email  sadhbh.fitzgerald@rcpsych.ac.uk and for Sustainability please email rosalind.steele@rcpsych.ac.uk.

Back to our November 2021 eNewsletter.