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Achieving Equality in Health and Social Care: A Framework for Action, published in the Spring 2010, is one part of Afiya’s strategic action plan and work programme for Andrew Lansley, Eric Pickles and their respective teams at the Department of Health and the Department of Communities and Local Government. Our framework for action is based on a detailed peer review and consultation process that attracted 500 responses from service users, practitioners and carers on the inequalities in health and social care for racialised communities in England.

The key recommendations from Achieving Equality in Health and Social Care for the coalition government to deliver on in its first two years in office are in the shape of a seven-point action plan to:

1. Address the diversity of identities and experiences within communities while delivering health and social care services.
2. Develop systems to enable racialised communities to influence policy making at the top level.
3. Support community-led social marketing campaigns to challenge inequalities and raise awareness.
4. Set mandatory duty for accountability and outcomes on health equality.
5. Monitor the commissioning process for effectiveness in meeting community needs.
6. Ensure service user and carer leadership in evaluation of services.
7. Recognise and respect cultural heritage, identity and belief systems of communities.

Underpinning this seven-pronged approach is the need to set milestones to eradicate racial inequalities in health, linked to performance targets for primary care trusts, GPs, local authorities and mental health trusts. And the importance of conducting an Equality Impact Assessment on the cuts in public expenditure to minimise a disproportionate impact on BME communities.