Chief Medical Officer’s blog

Date of release: 31 October 2023

As we come to the end of Black History Month (BHM), there is much to celebrate and to learn from.

At RWT, we have shared the stories on our social media platforms of many different black members of staff from different backgrounds, cultures and countries, all with their own journeys to share.

But whatever their stories, there is some fundamental learning that we can all take forward.

We must make sure all voices are not just heard but respected. As part of this, I’d like to highlight several of our Black and Minority Ethnic colleagues.

Chris Innerarity and Aradhika Heer

Christopher Innerarity , Pharmacy Directorate Manager at RWT, is the new Chair of RWT’s BAME Employee Voice Group (EVG). He is also one of 26 Cultural Ambassadors (CA) the Trust has recruited since 2020.

CAs help to eliminate bias and discrimination in our decision-making processes and demonstrate our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and fairness within recruitment, in line with the Equality Act 2010. A requirement to ensure CAs are part of our disciplinary and interview and selection processes is now included within Trust policy.

As part of BHM, Chris has been one of the driving forces behind the Trust’s ‘Saluting Our Sisters’ campaign where the contributions and journeys of black staff members have been promoted on our social media platform.

Chris says: “In my role with the EVG we do this work together – no man or woman is an island or stands alone. Together we can impact change and that’s significant to the work we do across the Trust.”

Aradhika Heer, Black Country Provider Collaborative Human Resources and Organisational Development Project Manager, Colorectal and General Surgery Clinical Network Project Manager based at RWT, has recently stepped down as Co-Chair of the BAME EVG, of which I am Executive Sponsor.

Aradhika’s work is truly valued and Chris has enjoyed working with her on numerous initiatives across the organisation.

As Chair of the BAME EVG, Chris will continue and hold to account the EDI agenda across the Trust that the EVG has developed.

Aradhika is not only an outstanding advocate for positive, constructive change but has a heart to serve and is a true treasure of the organisation.

There are a few other champions of diversity I must highlight. Maria Arthur, Group Deputy Director of Assurance, Doreen Black Head of Nursing – Division 1 and Lola Omotoso, Matron for International Recruitment (Nursing) and Sanaa Elgaddal, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, are legends at RWT for the work they have been doing over many years in being role models.

Others, such as Sunita Banga, EDI Lead for Midwifery, Samantha Sewell, Matron, Critical Care Outreach, Sepsis Team, Acute Pain Team and  Advanced Critical Care Practitioners, and Reverend Laurel Woodstock, Ecumenical Chaplain (Free Church) are doing similar work.

In the healthcare sector where there is an under representation of people of colour and women in senior leadership positions, they are inspirations for others to follow.

But we still have lots of work to do in this area. Around 30 per cent of our 11,000-plus staff are of colour; the BAME EVG has a membership of around 150. More than 100 people used to attend meetings but that is now fewer than 10.

Our ethnic workforce is not seeing the changes it would like, hence why they disengage. Directorates and local teams can help with this by releasing staff wherever possible to attend these meetings.

We must find ways of understanding the diverse views of our workforce better to create more harmony and better understanding of these issues for all employees.

Unfortunately, Chris and Aradhika have had some uncomfortable conversations – some that their parents and grandparents had – where staff experience racism from colleagues. This only serves to highlight the work still to be done.

Awareness and training on things like bystander intervention and microaggression will help.

Everyone benefits from positive role models and we must find the next champions of diversity.

Take care,
Brian