Willowbrook Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy Launch

Ahead of this year’s World Hospice & Palliative Care Day on 9th October, each day we will be sharing news, initiatives and campaigns from Willowbrook Hospice to show our community how we are committed to equity and equality of care. We believe everyone should have access to palliative and end of life care, no matter who they are or what their background is. We will also be raising awareness and understanding of the needs of people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

Today we’re launching our new Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Strategy. The EDI Strategy covers two key areas for Willowbrook:

• Our patients and the wider community in which we operate
• Our workforce (staff and volunteers)

Our aspiration is that all people living in our community have access to the best possible palliative care when and where it is needed, and this aspiration, along with feedback from our patients, informs the two main goals in our strategic plan that are supported by our new EDI Strategy:

1. Maintain and improve the quality of care provided by us and by others
2. Engage with our community and strengthen and develop partnerships that allow us to extend our ‘reach beyond the hospice walls’

We know that there has traditionally been a lack of equitable access to palliative and end of life care for both sections of the global community, and our own community closer to home. Those sections that have traditionally encountered barriers to access and lesser standards of care are frequently those that have faced discrimination. Our EDI Strategy is another step in our journey to addressing this inequity.

We have made seven commitments in our EDI Strategy to ensure that every day we are taking steps to ensure Willowbrook Hospice is an inclusive place for all patients, families, staff and volunteers. You can read the full EDI Strategy here.

The EDI Strategy sits alongside the Together We Are Willowbrook Charter as the foundation of our values and ethics.

Willowbrook Hospice is one of the UK members of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), an international non-governmental organisation focusing exclusively on hospice and palliative care development worldwide and a global voice on hospice and palliative care. World Hospice & Palliative Care Day is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. This year’s theme is “Leave no-one behind – equity in access to palliative care”.