Publish date: 4 October 2022
This year’s Black History Month is a time to shine a light on our shared British history and tell the whole story honestly and truthfully, to decolonise and reclaim history, and tell stories from the perspective of all people.
Black people have always made history and always will but it’s equally important that all persons within our organisation take the lead on how that history is discovered, explored, researched, recorded, archived, curated, exhibited and shared. That means supporting the continuing approach to having an anti-racist organisation.
Black History Month 2022 is also a time to look forward and celebrate the here and now and the future possibilities. In years gone by, October has been the only time of year when the UK talks about the achievements of Black people in Britain. Hopefully, the events of 2022 will be a catalyst for Black history to be shared much more widely within West London NHS Trust.
This year’s Black History Month is an opportunity for the organisation to reflect on the importance of ensuring we are much more accessible, inclusive and representative and empowering communities to define and share what Black history means to them.
Black History Month 2022 is a time for our organisation to come together and hopefully learn lessons for the present and the future. It’s a time to honour the commitment to learning and standing united against racism. We know there is more to do, more quickly, but we are heading in the right direction.
Key achievements for our Trust reported in our recent WRES data:
- The Trust met and exceeded the Model Employer WRES target for 2022 to improve BAME representation at the senior level, bands 8a and above.
- The Trust’s workforce strategy, aspiring to Excellence, was refreshed and approved by the Board in October 2022. One of the pillars of the strategy is a ‘fair and inclusive workplace. The refreshed strategy was developed in partnership with staff, the Clinical Service Unit and trade union colleagues.
- 20 staff engagement events, known as the Big Conversation, were held in 2021 and were attended by over 250 staff. The feedback from these sessions was that the staff valued the work on equality and diversity and on creating an inclusive and positive workplace culture.
- 55% of the workforce is BAME making it representative of the local population in overall terms and indicating that our recruitment practices are fair.
- In our 2022 WRES results, all nine of the workforce race equality standards improved demonstrating the organisation’s commitment to improving race equality.
We willl continue to work towards more progress in the future.