NELFT aims to follow good practice and take all reasonable steps to prevent slavery and human trafficking. We are committed to ensuring that all of our employees are aware of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and their safeguarding duty to protect and prevent any further harm and abuse when it is identified or suspected that the individual may be or is at risk of modern slavery/human trafficking.

We are committed to ensuring that no modern slavery or human trafficking takes place in any part of our business or our supply chain. This statement sets out actions taken by NELFT to understand all potential modern slavery and human trafficking risks and to implement effective systems and controls. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires all organisations to set out the steps the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains, and in any part of its own business.

As a Foundation Trust we are committed to the core principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion which will be embedded in the Modern Slavery workstream by ensuring the people with diverse backgrounds, diverse experiences, and different cultures, have fair and equal access, experience and outcomes.  We will work collaboratively and in collaboration with people with life experiences and develop relationships with organisations and communities set up to support those affected by modern slavery.  It is therefore critical that we make sure our service delivery and procurement processes are assessed appropriately. 

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) was formed in 2008 under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

With an annual turnover of £563 million, we provide care and treatment for a population of circa 4.9 million. We employ over 7,000 staff who work across more than 200 bases in London, Essex, Kent, and Medway. We aim to ensure that local people can receive the care they need close to their homes. The Trust is rated ‘good’ by the CQC.

NELFT is a large trust both geographically and in terms of the range of services we provide. This comes with a number of challenges and opportunities in relation to the complexity of the health and care systems we work within.

We provide an extensive range of integrated community and mental health services for people living in the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest and community health services for people living in the south-west Essex areas of Basildon, Brentwood, and Thurrock. We provide an Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Service for children and young people across the whole of Essex. We are the provider of all age eating disorder services and child and adolescent mental health services across Kent and Medway.

• care and support for people living with long-term conditions such as diabetes
• speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy
• health visiting, community, and school nursing
• many services that in other areas may be provided in hospital, such as blood testing, foot care and children’s audiology
• health promotion
• walk-in centres in Barking and Orsett.

• Ainslie Rehabilitation Unit in Chingford
• Brentwood Community Hospital
• Meadow Court and King George Hospital at Goodmayes
• Mayfield Unit in Thurrock Community Hospital.

The Trust has internal policies and procedures in place that assess supplier risk in relation to the potential for modern slavery or human trafficking.

NELFT Safeguarding Standard Operating Policy and procedure includes information on modern day slavery/human trafficking.

The NELFT Incident Reporting Policy states that staff should report incidents of all types and this includes concerns regarding modern slavery and human trafficking. By using the local risk management system (Datix) appropriate teams, including safeguarding and Freedom to Speak Up are made aware.

All staff have access to the NELFT Safeguarding Advice Service for support and guidance when they are concerned about modern day slavery or trafficking.

The Trust has a Freedom to Speak Up Policy which details how staff can raise any concerns that they may have confidentially or anonymously. This can be through a Freedom to Speak Up email inbox, anonymous online form or through a conversation with the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, who will provide support to the individual raising a concern. Staff are provided with this information at corporate induction. A Freedom to Speak Up Strategy is also in place.

  Trust activities and policies are required to have an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) completed.

The Trust is committed to social and environmental responsibility and has zero tolerance for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Any identified concerns regarding Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking are escalated as part of the organisational safeguarding process. This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes NELFT slavery and human trafficking statement for the current financial year.

All members of staff have a personal responsibility for the successful prevention of slavery and human trafficking with the procurement department taking responsibility for overall compliance.

A Freedom to Speak Up Report is submitted to the People and Culture Committee of the Board on a quarterly basis which includes an overview of the number of concerns raised by staff and the category that they fall into.