Our anti-racism perfect care goal

Dear All,

Earlier this week we relaunched our anti-racism perfect care goal (also known as our BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goal). This means Mersey Care has a zero acceptance of racism, discrimination, and unacceptable behaviours from and toward our workforce and our patients, service users, carers and families.

This is an important moment for us. It reaffirms our commitment to actively oppose racism and acknowledges that we did not do enough last year. It signals our commitment that we will do things differently from now on. 

To achieve real transformation, we must first accept that institutional and structural racism exists. It exists within our wider society, within the NHS, and within Mersey Care. Structural and institutional racism impacts our colleagues as well as our patients, service users, and their families and carers.

We have a responsibility to speak out and take action. If we are passive bystanders, we enable racism to continue. We recognise that we need to look inward and see how our own behaviours, actions, and stories may be contributing to racism. We will bring awareness to our role in racism and commit to change our behaviours and mindsets to reduce the harm it does in our organisation and in the services we deliver.   

We recognise that being ‘non-racist’ allows racism to continue. We must be actively anti-racist, by identifying and opposing racism in our everyday actions and behaviours.

The core principles of our new Anti-racism Strategic Plan focus on Education, Challenge and Support. Within a restorative, just, and learning culture, we will hold ourselves and each other to account for being actively anti-racist. This approach allows each and every one of us to unapologetically and purposefully identify, discuss and challenge racism.    

As an organisation we are learning about how to become more anti-racist. We are working across the organisation to ensure that the anti-racism lens is at the forefront of our strategic plans, our programmes of work, and our staff experience.

Over the next two weeks we have put together a programme of events to push our journey forward, these include:

• Good practice sessions which you can get involved with; where our support services will share how they are shifting their focus to become more actively anti-racist
• Stakeholder engagement discussions on our strategic plan; join in and give your input on areas to focus on over the next three years
• Resources for you to access to support your own exploration on becoming anti-racist
• Videos from our Executive Team and other members of the Trust talking about their own personal and professional journey in moving towards being more intentionally anti-racist.

Find out more here: https://yourspace.merseycare.nhs.uk/ZERO-acceptance

Mersey Care’s mission is to be an actively anti-racist health care provider and employer with zero acceptance of racism, discrimination, and unacceptable behaviours from and toward our workforce and our patients/service users, carers and families. Over the next two weeks I ask you to explore your own reflections on this important agenda and see how you too can become actively anti-racist.

Prof Joe Rafferty CBE

Chief Executive

(He/Him/His)