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Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 6 October

October 6, 2023

October is Black History Month – an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to society and to the NHS. It also serves as an opportunity to inspire and empower future generations.

We are privileged to work in one of the most diverse communities in the country. And I am proud that much of our SWB family comes from those communities that we serve.

I am often out and about meeting and talking to colleagues across the organisation and I can honestly say our diversity is our strength and we should remember and celebrate that. Only by understanding and learning about and from each other can we truly become the workplace where colleagues are happy and productive.

Last week I was delighted to see over 300 colleagues gather at Sandwell to take part in the National Inclusion Week celebrations. Throughout the week, acute medicine also hosted an array of activities including specific days focused on religion, pride, mental health and cultural awareness.

We all have a part to play in fostering an improved culture – making our organisation fairer, more inclusive and compassionate. Creating a place where colleagues can speak up without fear of repercussion and have a true sense of belonging lies at the heart of our People Plan.

Our staff survey results, Workforce Race Equality Scheme (WRES), Workforce Disability Equality Scheme (WDES) and gender pay gap shows a need for a step change in our approach to equality diversity and inclusion in order bring a shift in mindset and behaviour.

I am pleased that as part of our EDI plan we have already implemented some key programmes of work including:

  • Launch of our new ARC Leadership Development Programme focusing on compassionate and inclusive leadership and will be instrumental in creating the foundation required to support behavioural change.
  • An Inclusive Resourcing and Talent Management Group has been established to ensure inclusion is at the heart of our succession planning and talent management programmes with a view to address underrepresentation in senior leadership roles and increase career development opportunities.
  • Our values – ambition – respect – compassion are now being embedded in our recruitment and appraisal processes. This creates the structure by which we can recognise great colleagues who live our values, and challenge poor behaviours.
  • We have relaunched our Freedom to Speak Up offer to improve reporting and outcomes.
  • We have commenced the roll out of a “Just and Learning” principles (known as ‘restorative people practice’) in order to improve the experience of our staff going through HR processes, address over-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues in these processes, create psychological safety and enable a culture of civility, learning and accountability.
  • The Cultural Ambassador Programme continues to support employee relations work across the Trust.
  • We have signed up to the Diversity Champions Programme to create a more inclusive workforce for our LGBTQ+ colleagues.
  • We have signed up to the RACE Equality Code which provides best practice guidance that will help us to understand, not only what is required of us by our regulators and stakeholders in relation to tackling issues of race equality within SWB, but also how to apply those requirements.

In addition, we are currently rolling out a development programme for staff network leads and sponsors so our networks are able to function more effectively in helping us improve the experience of our colleagues.

Take the opportunity to find out more about the wonderful work we are doing in this space. You can contact Meagan Fernandes or Donna Mighty to find out more about our EDI plan and how you can play your part.

Please also get involved in the various events taking place throughout October to mark Black History Month. On Wednesday 11 October, in partnership with the University of Birmingham and Recognize Black Heritage and Culture, SWB is hosting Staying Power: Unity through Community. Taking place at the Exchange, 3 Centenary Square, from 6.30pm – 8.30pm, the evening will see perspectives from academics, students, and artists from across the West Midlands. Find out more on Connect.