Surrey and Sussex Healthcare (SASH) is proud to care for almost a million people across east Surrey, north-east West Sussex and south Croydon, including Crawley, Horsham, Reigate and Redhill, and our staff are part of those same communities, with many of our 5,000 colleagues living locally, raising families locally and using the services we provide.
We want every patient to feel safe, cared for and treated as an individual, and every member of staff, whatever their role, to feel included, respected and able to do their job well.
That means ensuring equal access to fair, inclusive services for our patients, their families and carers, and our staff, and a continued commitment to tackling discrimination and racism in all its forms, reducing health inequalities wherever we find them.
Dignity and respect: We value each person as an individual and will challenge disrespectful and inappropriate behaviour.
One team: We work together and have a can-do approach to all that we do, recognising that we all add value with equal worth.
Compassion: We respond with humanity and kindness and search for things we can do, however small; we do not wait to be asked, because we care.
Safety and quality: We take responsibility for our actions, decisions and behaviours in delivering safe, high-quality care.
We're developing our next inclusion strategy. This will build on the work of our One Team Inclusion Strategy and set out refreshed priorities and an action plan that will weave into all that we do.
We'll update this page as the new strategy takes shape.
Our colleagues are often subjected to abuse, violence and aggression from patients and their relatives. It is not acceptable and is a key area that our staff routinely report as affecting their daily lives.
We support our colleagues to challenge inappropriate behaviour, use the relevant authorities where needed, ensure sufficient security is available within our services, and provide care and compassion for those staff affected by these difficult events.
As with wider society, the NHS continues to be affected by the persistent challenges of racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as other forms of discrimination and inequality. Recognising this reality is an essential step towards creating a more inclusive environment for all.
At SASH we are committed to making our NHS services and our Trust accepting, inclusive and safe for everyone. Antisemitism, racism, islamophobia and any form of discriminatory behaviour, has no place in the NHS. Everyone should feel safe, respected and valued, whether accessing care or providing it. No patient should experience fear or discrimination when receiving treatment, and no member of staff should feel excluded, intimidated or unsupported in their place of work.
Achieving this requires all of us to acknowledge the challenges that exist and to take meaningful action to address them. Eliminating racism in all its forms across the NHS and across our Trust demands a collective and sustained commitment at every level of our organisation. We must remain conscious of the discrimination, harassment and racial abuse that some of our colleagues and patients continue to experience and work together to create environments where everyone feels safe, respected and included.
The Trust has adopted the Government’s Anti-Muslim hostility definition and Antisemitism working definition and signed up to the NHS Race and Health Observatory Seven Anti-Racism Principles, in line with the 2026 Lord Mann Review and NHS England directive.
Supporting information
As part of the adoption of the IHRA working definition, the Trust has produced a written guidance note for internal use on how it will be implementing the working definition and updated the relevant policies. The key points in the guidance note include:
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The reasons why the Trust has decided to adopt the working definition and to reiterate its commitment to the obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010 and the NHS Constitution.
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A breakdown of the working definition of antisemitism and listing examples of behaviour that might be antisemitic – noting that these examples are non-exhaustive and highly fact specific.
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Setting out what the adoption does and does not permit the Trust to do when dealing with allegations of antisemitism.
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Explanation that the definition is a non-statutory interpretive aid, it is not an automatic or presumptive indicator of antisemitism.
SASH staff can get involved in several staff networks, providing peer support and a voice on issues that matter to them. Our networks include men's health, cultural inclusion, LGBTQ+, our colleagues with lived experience of disabilities, neurodiversity and learning difficulties and a women's network.
These networks are run by the staff for the staff and champion inclusive practice, contributing to workplace policy, providing safe and respectful spaces and shaping a positive working culture.
Our inclusion reports from 2022 onward can be found in our Annual Reports - please click here to access them.
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES)
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES)
Gender pay report
We want everyone who visits our hospitals to feel comfortable telling us what they need.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme lets anyone with a non-visible disability, such as learning difficulties, mental health conditions, or chronic illnesses wear a sunflower to indicate they may need extra time or support, without having to explain why.
Find out more information about the Sunflower Scheme, on the Hidden Disabilities Store website.
Many of our staff also wear an NHS Rainbow Badge, showing they're open to talking with LGBT+ patients and colleagues about their identity and any support they might need.
