Black History Month: Celebrating Diversity and Driving Change
As we celebrate Black History Month, we take this opportunity to recognise the significant contributions of Black colleagues within our Trust. This year’s theme, Reclaiming Narratives, encourages us to uplift and amplify the stories and experiences of individuals that have often been overlooked or untold. It’s a time not only to reflect on their lasting impact on history but also to recognise their crucial role in shaping our future.
Black History Month serves as a reminder of our ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all staff, service users, carers, and communities. It’s not just about commemorating the past but a call to action for the future. We must actively listen, learn, and contribute to an environment where every individual’s story is acknowledged and celebrated.
Reclaiming Narratives in Healthcare
Our Trust recognises the importance of reclaiming health narratives, particularly for Black individuals who often face disparities in accessing and receiving mental health care. Through our work with the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF), we are tackling these inequalities, ensuring service users from ethnically diverse backgrounds feel empowered, respected, and supported in their mental health journey. This framework addresses the specific needs of our Black communities and fosters a more responsive, person- centred approach to care.
By introducing culturally informed mental health support, advocating for the voices of Black service users, and offering initiatives like the Seni Lewis Training Programme, we transform the experience of Black people within our Trust services. This programme equips staff with essential skills in de-escalation and crisis management and highlights cultural competence in delivering mental health care.
Additionally, the Seni Lewis Award plays a significant role in our commitment to reclaiming health narratives. Co-developed with the police in memory of Olaseni Lewis, this award recognises NHS mental health organisations that have made outstanding contributions to improving collaboration between mental health services and the police by encouraging best practices in multi-agency responses to mental health crisis.
The Role of Our Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network
At the heart of our efforts to promote equality and inclusion in our workforce is our Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network. This network plays a critical role in fostering professional development, cultural understanding, and open dialogue for staff from all backgrounds. It is a safe space for discussions about race, inclusion, and equality, while also celebrating the richness of diverse cultures through regular meetings and events.
The network is also instrumental in advocating for the voices, needs, and aspirations of ethnic minority staff, ensuring their perspectives are valued at the highest levels of the organisation. Through access to career development opportunities, leadership programmes, and mentorship, the network supports the advancement of its members in leadership roles. By doing so, it helps drive meaningful change and fosters a workplace culture where diversity is recognised as a strength.
Our Commitment to Anti-Racism
In 2023, we launched our Anti-Racism Action Plan, a key component of our broader strategy, Aiming High: Changing Lives. This plan sets out our commitment to addressing systemic racism within our Trust and promoting equality for all staff, service users, carers, and communities.
Since launching the plan, we have implemented several key policies to embed anti-racist practices across the organisation:
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Secondment, Temporary Promotion, and Acting Up Policy: We have introduced a new policy to ensure equal access to professional development opportunities through secondments, temporary promotions, and acting up roles. This is aimed at creating more pathways for underrepresented groups to step into leadership positions, supporting career advancement within the Trust.
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Starting Salary Policy: To promote equity, we have introduced a Starting Salary Policy that ensures a consistent approach when establishing the salaries of new employees and current staff who are moving within the organisation, including in promotions, acting up, and secondments. This policy aims to remove disparities in pay and promote fairness in compensation.
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Diversity in Recruitment Champions (DIRs): We have embedded 220 Diversity in Recruitment Champions (DIRs) into our recruitment processes to support all vacancies at Band 8a and above. These champions play a crucial role in ensuring that our hiring processes are fair, inclusive, and free from bias. We are on track to reach our target of 250 DIRs by October 2024, continuing to strengthen our commitment to equitable recruitment.
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Promoting Anti-Racist Practice in Research: Removing barriers to research participation and increasing diversity in research are key elements of our anti-racism plan. We established and lead the BREaD (Building Race Equity and Diversity in Research) Network, which focuses on promoting good practices around race inclusion, diversity, and equity in research. BREaD, which links with the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) , allows us to share insights and collaborate with NHS and University partners to ensure research is inclusive and representative of the communities we serve.
These initiatives, alongside ongoing efforts to promote diversity, form the backbone of our Anti-Racism Action Plan. By embedding anti-racist practices in all areas of our work, we are creating a more inclusive, supportive, and fair environment for everyone.
Moving Forward Together
Black History Month reminds us that the journey toward a more inclusive and anti-racist future is ongoing. Our Black and Minority Ethnic Network and Anti-Racism Action Plan are key drivers of this change, ensuring that diversity is celebrated, and equity is at the core of all we do. As we move forward together, we encourage all staff to engage with the network, participate in our initiatives, and contribute to building an environment where everyone can grow.
Together, we will continue to reclaim narratives and build a Trust that reflects the strength, diversity, and potential of our workforce and the communities we serve.
