NGH BAME Network Newsletter April 2021
The Network was established in mid-2019 and we have gradually been growing in size and in uence since then. We are nally starting to get our seat at the table enabling us to make a real di erence to the working lives of BAME sta in the Trust.
We have so much planned for the year and a lot to share with you — we have been having many powerful conversations and making impactful decisions with the Senior Leaders of the Trust so we can’t wait to see these changes happen to bene t you all.
It can be hard to keep up with snippets of information on social media so this quarterly newsletter should go a long way in keeping you informed. We hope you enjoy.
Andre - Co-Chair
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Newsletter
BAME Network
April 2021
2021
BAME CALENDAR THE YEAR OF BAME January
February
March
April Aspirational Leaders
Our First BAME Sta Network Newsletter!
12th Chinese New Year
28th - 29th Holi
4th
Easter
12th
Ramadan
22nd
Steven Lawrence Day
May
June
July
August
12th-13th Eid al-Fitr
Levelling the Field
19th-23rd
Eid ul-Adha
September
October
November
December
Black History Month
4th
Diwali
25th
Christmas
22nd
Windrush Day
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April 2021
Network Name In 2019 the UK Government published an article “Please, don't call me BAME or BME!” with the aim of discouraging people from using the terminology.
The Government now does not use the terms BAME or BME due to the following:
• they include some groups and not others – for example, the UK’s ethnic minorities include White minorities and people with a Mixed ethnic background
• the acronyms BAME and BME were not well understood in user research
A few weeks ago we asked the group for their opinions on a new name.
We offered two initial approaches to this “rebranding” - Diversity & Inclusion Network and REACH Network.
Overwhelmingly you all loved REACH. The feedback was that it was all encompassing and while it focussed on the ethnicity of staff it also included everyone’s cultural heritage and values
We want to feel part of something, and we want the name to be inclusive no exclusive. We, and you all, feel this name does just that and we are so happy that you have all come to this conclusion. We will slowly be transitioning to the new name from now and phasing out the term BAME so watch this space
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Chair Update Welcome to the April Newsletter - there’s lots to update you on! - Leann
Reset and Re ec At the end of the newsletter are the slides we shared with the Board last year - it’s great to re ect on what we have achieved since then. These actions were agreed at Board level and we are making steady progress on all. We are so close to having a change to the interview policy to allow for fairer and more representative recruitment, having inclusive recruitment training shared across the trust, BAME staff on all interview panels and a pool of staff to sit on these panels, diverse menus in our canteen, the diversity calendar, our social media presence increasing, reverse mentoring, the list goes on. Now we are moving forwards to also start looking at cultural ambassadors, it will be amazing to start those discussions Staff Storie As shared previously without your stories we cannot nd ways to get these initiatives started. It is these lived experience that change attitudes and more importantly policies. Thank you to the 10 staff members from across the Trust that I have met with who have shared their stories of discrimination with me. These powerful and emotive stories have made me re ect on how far we have yet to go to make NGH a better working environment Protected time for the Chair, Vice-Chair and Co-Chair I just wanted to thank the Co-Chairs as they have done all this work increasing the pro le of the group and getting all these initiatives off the ground. These roles are done in their own time and I do not think they get enough praise for what they do. I want them to know I really appreciate their support. The BAME group is held up as a shining example of how to run a group and praised for all the work it is doing. As we move forward we are discussing with senior leadership our parameters for proper protected time for this role. It has been agreed at KGH and will be moved across to NGH very soon. If you would like to get more involved in the running of the group please let me know
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Chair Update COVID Even Well done Tim and Toyosi for an amazing event with huge attendance. Please do share the recording and any links I send via email to friends and family as well as colleagues to help share reliable COVID information Bullying and Harassmen Tim has alluded to the focus on decreasing the feeling of staff that they are being bullied and harassed due to their ethnicity. It is so sad to see the gures and think of what the staff behind those numbers have had to go through. I met with SOS and have had an amazing conversation with Moya to see what can be offered there. It is hoped that together we can lead some engagement sessions with HR and OD colleagues as well ascertain a focused action plan. Hopefully we can try and make some headway with this issue. What suggestions do you have to improve this? Let us know EDI Support from Cathe Gaskel Myself and Brian have met with Cathe Gaskell in OD to start feeding into the group EDI strategy which was great and hopefully those suggestions will be put forwards soon. Cathe has been an amazing source of information, support and inspiration. I cannot wait to see and read her EDI initiatives for the group and hopefully this will give us a laser focus on how to improve the WRES and staff survey data moving forward BAME Nurse/ Midwife development opportunit This development opportunity is amazing leadership development and should be grasped with both hands. If you require assistance with your application please email Emily @ Emily.Lambert@ngh.nhs.uk and she will be happy to help Interview with Simon Weldo My interview with the Group CEO will be taking place soon. Simon is so committed to moving this forward. In our regular meetings I know we always have his full support in this agenda. What would you like us to discuss?
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Chair Update CEO Interview The NGH CEO Interviews were the 24th March 2021 and I put Tim forward for this opportunity. Our aim is to have BAME reps on any band 7 and above post to start with. All of our co-chairs will soon be afforded the opportunity to sit on these panels as most of them have. I am working with Simon Weldon and the KGH chair to establish a process for this so more BAME staff have the opportunity to do this and can be selected from a pool of trained and supported colleagues Cultural Menu Andre and I met with Ian from the catering department and they have amazing ideas on how to engage staff in eating recipes from all cultural backgrounds regularly! We will be in touch when this amazing initiative starts, it will really bring staff together Engagement – Please share this newsletter with all colleagues and managers. We want to increase the numbers that attend meetings and engage with the network. The next meeting is 23rd April 2021.
Vice-Chair Update Over the past few months I have had training with the KGH EDI lead to become an Inclusive Recruitment Champion. This is to continue to assist on improving the interview and recruitment process for staff which I am working on with HR. As part of that also I will be on the interview panel for the recruitment of the two Digital Directors for both NGH and KGH. Myself and Leanna are also working on interview skills training for managers and also prospective applicants - we are so excited to be able to help those out who feel uncomfortable interviewing - and this will make the entire process much more enjoyable and fair for all involved In addition, I have also been working closely supporting the Chair for NGH BAME group to bring all the work streams together - Brian
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April 2021
ASPIRATIONAL LEADERS Throughout April we will be sharing a series of interviews with some highpro le gures from the NHS. Many of these will be from a BAME background — of course!
BAME sta need aspiration, now more than ever. So we want to be able to show YOU how it can be done!
We will be asking questions focussing on equality, diversity and inclusion, BAME initiatives and stories of how these key players have succeeded in their lives.
We can’t wait to share them with you. You may even recognise a few faces…
On Friday (9th) we will share Andre’s chat with Dr Kamran Abbasi - physician, Executive Editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), visiting professor at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health - Imperial College London and editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) - we can’t wait for you to see it! And more leaders to come this month!
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April 2021
INSIGHT Reverse Mentoring has o cially launched at NGH!
Connection
Our mentors have been picked from volunteers of the Network and paired up with a Board member mentee based on various metrics via an amazing external Consultant Cathe and the OD Team (including our very own Pavan!)
Trust
Insight
A huge thank you to Louise from OD who has been instrumental in helping us put this together.
The rst meetings have taken place and we can’t wait to share the progress of the programme!
For further info or to sign up yourself to a future cohort please email Pavan @ Pavanjit.Sharma@ngh.nhs.uk - we would love to have you on board!
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THE YEAR OF BAME so far…
Happy Chinese New Year February 2021
From all at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital
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April 2021
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY In March we joined Leanna in kicking o the International Women’s Day campaign #ChooseToChallenge “Where we can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge” - IWD: IWD 2021 campaign theme: #ChooseToChallenge (internationalwomensday.com)
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April 2021
Executive Sponsor I’m Andy Callow, the Group Chief Digital Information O cer, which means I have Board accountability for technology and information at Northampton and Kettering hospitals. I’m also the Executive Sponsor for the BAME Networks at both Trusts.
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for the contribution you’re making to our organisations by being part of the Network. You are helping drive our organisations towards being more inclusive, so thank you for your continued input and e orts. I wanted to ensure you were aware of a couple of things:
One to One Slots I make two 1 hour slots available in my diary each month for members of the BAME Network to book with me for a 1-2-1 session. You may be wondering what that could be used for? The answer is – it is completely up to you.
I’m happy to use the time to:
• Hear about your lived experience in our organisations (or from elsewhere) and to understand your thoughts on what I can do as a member of the Executive Team to address it
• Have a career coaching session – hear about your aspirations and talk thoughts on your plans/next steps
• Review a job application ahead of you submitting it
• Do some mock interview questions – either for general practice or ahead of an actual interview
• Challenge me on something I’ve said, written, done or not done
Colleagues who have used these sessions for all the above reasons, but you may have others you can think of and that’s completely ne. I nd I learn a lot from these sessions and continue to be keen to educate myself.
To arrange one of these slots contact Lewis for NGH - Lewis.Chinnick@nhs.net and Sharon for KGH Sharon.Stinton@nhs.net
Leadership Bookclub I’d also like to remind you of the NGH-KGH Leadership bookclub. We meet monthly to talk about a book that is broadly linked with leadership and personal development. Anyone is welcome and you don’t have to be a manager, just curious and interested about your personal development.
We work on the principles of:
• No one is in charge
• All voices are equal
• We respect con dences shared
• We attempt to learn and apply
We are a small group, all seeking to improve ourselves professionally and personally. There’s plenty of room for more to join, you do need to buy your own book, but even then, there’s even no requirement that you’ve actually read the book! We’d love to see you. Currently we’re meeting via Teams in an evening. To join the mailing list, please contact Margaret Theaker: m.theaker@nhs.net
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April 2021
BREXIT EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME If you are from the EU, or from Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and you want to continue living and working in the UK, you need to apply to the Settlement Scheme!
EU citizens living without immigration status in the UK after June 2021 will become unlawful and risk losing their access to free healthcare, social services, banking, employment, rented accommodation etc... you may also not be able to continue living or working in the UK as you do now — we do NOT want any of our sta to be in this position so please stay informed and act NOW!
Terminology • Settled status is the o cial grant of immigration status that will allow us to continue to live, work and study in the UK on an inde nite basis, it retains full access to healthcare, state bene ts and pensions
• Pre-settled status is acquired when a person has lived in the UK for less than ve years
You do not need to apply if you have — • Inde nite leave to enter the UK
• Inde nite leave to remain in the UK
• British or Irish citizenship (including ‘dual citizenship’)
It’s FREE to apply to the scheme!
Get in touch with Co-Chair Beata @ Beata.Wojcik@ngh.nhs.uk if you need anything re. Brexit – no question is too small.
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SoS SUPPORTING OUR STAFF The SoS team are trained to support sta in distress. This may be relating to a workplace incident or other things that are impacting you at work. We support both clinical and non-clinical sta and volunteers. We pride ourselves in being responsive - if you are unsure if SoS is the right service for you, just send us an email and we will make sure to connect to you to the appropriate team if SoS isn’t for you.
This is a con dential service, we do not share your information with your manager unless this is something you would like to help support you in the workplace.
We are also always interested in recruiting new members of the SoS team. If you are interested in supporting your colleagues, have the utmost respect for con dentiality and are con dent at having sensitive conversations with your peers then get in touch @ SoS.mailbox@ngh.nhs.uk
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IN THE NEWS
NHS launches NHS Regional Clinical Fellow Scheme! https://www.fmlm.ac.uk/news-opinion/press/nhs-launches-nhsregional-clinical-fellow-scheme
We are disappointed by the findings of the government-commissioned report on race & ethnic disparities. What are your thoughts? https://t.co/oOKRDkrUIq https://twitter.com/JohnAmaechi/status/1377545222163472384?s=08
Boris Johnson's race commission 'to scrap use of BAME label’ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/29/boris-johnsonsrace-commission-to-scrap-use-of-bame-label
Covid: Lower jab take-up by BAME NHS sta 'a concern' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-56069325
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Useful Contact Details and Links
Tim, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Tim.Brown@ngh.nhs.uk
Andre, Co-Chair Andre.Gore@ngh.nhs.uk
Leanna, Chair Leanna.Luxton@ngh.nhs.uk
Pavan, Co-Chair Pavanjit.Sharma@ngh.nhs.uk
Brian, Vice-Chair Brian.Marimba@ngh.nhs.uk
Sam, Co-Chair Samukeliso.Sibanda@ngh.nhs.uk
Join our group! facebook.com/groups/ nghbame
Follow us! Toyosi, Co-Chair Toyosi.Adeniji@ngh.nhs.uk
Beata, Co-Chair Beata.Wojcik@ngh.nhs.uk
twitter.com/nghBAME
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