Each October, Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is British history, Black culture is British culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of Britain — our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations.
Shining a light on Black history today is as important to understanding ourselves and growing stronger as a Trust as it has ever been. That is why it is essential that we take time to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of Black people, honour the legacies and achievements of generations past, reckon with centuries of injustice, and confront those injustices that still fester today.
The NHS is the biggest employer of people from diverse backgrounds in Europe. According to Government figures published in 2021, Black people made up 6.5% of NHS staff, compared with 3.4% of working age people and Black people make up 6.6% of non-medical staff and 5.2% of medical staff.
The national Black History Month theme for 2022 is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’. This Black History Month we will celebrate and elevate the achievements and resilience of our Black colleagues and our Black communities. But we will also create a safe space for open and honest discussions on how we can all work together as One Alder Hey to deliver measurable change via meaningful actions. As the NHS People Promise says, we all have a voice that counts – let’s be proud of uniting our voices, in pursuit of our shared goal of delivering a vison of equity and dignity for all.
As Chair of the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group, I am pleased to share three practical actions that the Trust is committed to deliver for change:
- The Trust will fully support staff to be members of our EDI Staff Networks – focussing initially on Race, Disability and Sexual Orientation.
- The Trust will develop a healthy working relationship with Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) nationally to implement a strategy for focussing on the following three listed areas for improvement within the Trust’s most recent WRES report:
- Indicator 1: Career progression in non-clinical roles (lower to middle levels)
- Indicator 6: Harassment, bullying or abuse from staff in last 12 months against Black and Minority Ethnic staff
- Indicator 8: Staff who personally experienced discrimination at work from a manager, team leader or other colleagues
- The Trust will actively communicate and promote its “Zero Tolerance of Racist, Homophobic, Prejudiced or Discriminatory Behaviour” policy across the Trust and ensure appropriate training is provided to staff.
As we celebrate Black History Month, let us all recommit ourselves to reach for the NHS People Promise. We all have a collective responsibility to continue to fight for the equality, opportunity, and dignity to which every Black staff, patient and family member is due in equal measure.
I call on Alder Hey to not just celebrate Black History Month in October, but to challenge inequalities all year round and recognise the power and potential of equality, diversity, and inclusion to foster an Alder Hey culture of the “Best People Doing Their Best Work”.
Yours,
