Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust celebrates diaspora at BAME event

More than 60 delegates representing the diaspora NHS staff came together to celebrate diversity and inclusion and discuss opportunities.

Representatives from NUH and other trusts across England and Wales enjoyed networking and sharing their experiences as they built links beyond their home organisations.

Diaspora staff shared their connections to global health systems, their expertise, and the barriers they face in being recognised for the value they add to our UK health workforce – diaspora refers to people who have spread from the country of their origin to another and by coming together, everyone can share connections to global health systems, their expertise, and the barriers they face in being recognised for the value they add to our UK health workforce.

Richard Holder, NUH global health lead and BAME network chairman, said: “At Nottingham we have about 2,500 international staff, which doesn’t include the large body of staff who are British-born with diaspora cultural heritage.

“We should utilise this knowledge and learn from everyone’s experiences. We want to address inequalities by linking our work from community to our global health partnerships. We are on a journey and as our partnership develops we will have a diaspora collaborative adventure where we support and stand with them in their country of origin. Today is about us building knowledge, participation and sharing practice.”

The global health panel was attended by NHS trusts across England and Wales, who shared work and interactive discussions.

The Going Global session focused on engaging diaspora staff in global health. Tropical Health and Education Trust and Health Education England have delivered NHS Going Global training days and webinar series to more than0 NHS staff, providing interactive and engaging sessions to learn about engaging in global health activities.

It provided a platform for the voices of NHS diaspora staff in NUH’s Diaspora Network and those from Nottingham and its surrounding areas. There was an opportunity for networking and discussions about strengthening diversity networks across England.

Claire Hepworth spoke about the links of the Jimma Link hospital in Ethiopia with the NUH and the Global Health Partnership. The hospital serves a population of 15 million people.

She said: “NUH has been sharing knowledge and improving health in Ethiopia and this is an amazing opportunity for staff to gain a range of skills and the joy of immersing themselves in a new culture.“Ethiopia doesn’t have a lot of resources so to make a change, lots of small steps get you a long way. They are doing marvellous things with very little and making do with the equipment they have with all staff working together to support solutions on the ground. This is a chance for NUH staff to exchange services and grow. They come back with a renewed passion for the NHS and a desire to do more with less and make a difference.”

The event also showcased the results from THET’s diaspora survey and its 2021 Experts in Our Midst, which says that in Nottingham, one in six NHS staff in the UK are not from a British Nationality.

The work is being led by Kokilka Swamynathan, THET diaspora engagement advisor, and storytelling is at the heart of this work. She spoke about the diaspora and health equity for all, there needs to be more funding. We need to hear from you and your stories and you can join a broader survey and fill out the survey.

Ben Simms, from THET, said: “It is exciting to see team leadership within this room coming across Nottingham University Hospital from the leadership team to members of staff. It is a very good sign of a very well-functioning and positive culture that NUH is supporting and embracing these ideas so openly. Nottingham is trailblazing across the English NHS and when it comes to this area with academia and storytelling of the diaspora, the expertise they bring to this, it is part of a very exciting movement. Nottingham NUH should be recognised for all the work they are doing.”

A panel of experts contributed to the event including Evelyn Brearley from Cambridge, Moses Mulimira from NHS England, Rhiannon Beaumont Wood from Public Health Wales and Tim Gill from Yorkshire NHS Trust. and NUH’s Vignesh Murali, directorate general manager for urgent emergency department,

Mr Murali said: “It is important to look closer to home when it comes to Global Health Partnerships. If you consider Nottingham as one of the high population of people from the global population and is quite highly deprived. It is important to see the opportunities we are already building locally and leverage that in terms of the diaspora.”Mr George said: “Our event in global health has captured the imagination of what can be done to recognise the solutions and the actions we can take to promulgate these solutions beyond UK boundaries. What we want to do is to build on this and reach out to all.”

Overall, the day was a huge success and a real energy filled the room as diaspora NHS staff came together to share knowledge and stories about their experiences and their countries of heritage.

The event was a chance to provide networking opportunities to mingle with experts across the NHS. Find out more about the opportunities to work with GHP by contacting [email protected]