Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Racism and discrimination contribute directly to health inequalities. Tackling these issues is not only the right thing to do, but it is also required by law through the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. In Gateshead, we recognise that systemic racism affects access to services, health outcomes, and the experience of our workforce and residents. Our commitment to this Marmot Principle reflects a broader ambition to create an inclusive, fair and equitable health and care system.

Research consistently shows that people who experience racism or discrimination face higher rates of chronic stress, and illness. (Walcott, S. and Nightingale, G. (2025) How racism affects health. London: The Runnymede Trust and the Health Foundation) Systemic biases within healthcare systems also contribute to unequal access to quality care and poorer treatment outcomes for people from minoritised backgrounds and their communities. (Kapadia, D., Zhang, J., Salway, S., Nazroo, J., Booth, A., Villarroel Williams, N., Bécares, L. and Esmail, A. (2023) Ethnic Inequalities in Healthcare: A Rapid Evidence Review. London: NHS Race & Health Observatory.) By tackling racism and discrimination across the building blocks of health, we can improve health and wellbeing for those affected and build a more inclusive, equitable society.

The action we will take

We will:

• support local voluntary groups that work with minoritised communities, and offer advice, advocacy, and signposting to specialist services for victims of racism and discrimination 
• make sure we listen to minoritised communities, they are included in decision making and have opportunities to tell us what they need 
• build trust and strengthen community cohesion across communities and with local institutions
• increase awareness of hate crime reporting and work with partners to improve support for victims of hate crimes
• provide cultural competency training to staff so that they understand, respect and work well with people from different backgrounds, so that services reduce barriers, provide support and everyone feels understood, included, and treated fairly.
• support staff across organisations to be active bystanders who challenge unconscious bias, racism and discrimination.
• create a dedicated partnership, supported by the Health and Wellbeing Board to lead work to tackle racism
• review and update the Health Needs Assessment and Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for race and faith communities in Gateshead
• improve how we collect and monitor data about service use, complaints, and workforce demographics and build trust for people to share their protected characteristics. This will help us identify inequalities and improve services to ensure they are accessible for everyone
• tackle the negative health, social and economic harms caused by hate crime and racism by providing appropriate and timely support through coordinated VCSE, health, community safety, police, and commissioned services
• promote fair recruitment practices so that the local workforce reflects our diverse population, and we support career progression through learning opportunities, mentoring and staff

We will deliver this through:

• Local VCSE organisations and Connected Voice 
• Workforce Development and Inclusion 
• Community Engagement and Co-Production 
• Data, Evaluation and Transparency
• Using Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Heath Equity Assessments to review policies, services, commissioning and budget decisions
• Community Cohesion Strategy (in development)
• Community Safety Board
• Safer Gateshead Partnership Plan
• Community Tensions Monitoring Group
• All of our equality policies and strategies 
• Prevent Duty and Partnership Plan
• Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust Strategy
• CNTW Strategy
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements

We know we will have made a difference when:

• People from different backgrounds interact positively and respectfully
• People feel safe, supported and empowered to be part of their neighbourhood and community
• There is a shared vision and sense of belonging across Gateshead and its communities
• Inequalities and barriers to service access and participation are known and actively addressed
• Hate crime, racism and discrimination is prevented
• Local organisations are trusted and seen as accessible, fair and inclusive