Patient and carer race equality framework

NHS England launched its first anti-racism framework for mental health services in England, in May 2023.

The Patient and carer race wquality framework (PCREF) is mandatory for all NHS mental health trusts and providers. It sets out clear actions they must take to reduce racial inequalities in their services – and forms part of Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections.

The framework focuses on three areas:

  1. Leadership and governance – trust boards will lead on creating and monitoring plans to reduce health inequalities.
  2. Data – trusts must publish new data on progress in reducing health inequalities, and include ethnicity information in all existing core data sets.
  3. Feedback – trusts must put clear, visible ways in place for patients and carers to give feedback, and show how that feedback leads to action.

Patients and communities are at the heart of designing and improving the services they use. The PCREF builds on progress already made locally and marks a significant step forward for the sector.

How trusts can embed anti-racism through the patient and carer race equality framework (PCREF)

Patient and carer race equality framework - how trusts will embed anti-racism.

Leadership and governance

  • Nominate an executive board lead and establish governance structures, accountability and leadership across the organisation.
  • Co-develop, implement and review local PCREF plans with racialised communities and your workforce.
  • Identify priorities for improvement in meeting the specific legislative and regulatory requirements relating to equalities to include in local PCREF plans.
  • Monitor core measures at Trust Board level on a regular basis and publish PCREF plans.

National organisational competencies

  • Engage with racialised communities to identify and agree core organisational competencies.
  • Agree on measurable and practical actions to co- develop in local PCREF plans.
  • Ensure the whole organisation is aware of its responsibilities in implementing local PCREF plans.

Patient and carer feedback mechanism

  • Ensure patient experience data is used, monitored and flowed to national data-sets to enable bench- marking, lesson-sharing and service improvement.
  • Ensure outcome measures are routinely used and monitored locally, and flowed to national datasets to enable benchmarking, lesson-sharing and improvement of services.
  • Agree approaches for implementing a ‘real time’ and transparent feedback loop for racialised and ethnically and culturally diverse communities.