Staff stand up for a positive workplace at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust
Staff at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust are being asked to make personal pledges to stop discrimination in the workplace as part of a major new initiative aimed at ending racism, bullying and harassment.
At NUH’s inaugural Inclusion Event, held at the East Midlands Conference Centre on Friday 31 March, Chief Executive Anthony May and Chief Nurse Michelle Rhodes launched a three-point anti-discrimination Charter which commits to bringing an end to individual experiences of bullying, racism and harassment, which have been reported by staff.
In return the Charter asks every member of staff to make their own pledge to building a positive workplace. Members of the Trust Board were the first people to show their support.
Non-Executive Director and Chair of NUH’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee Serbjit Kaur said: “Our commitment to our staff can be summed up in three actions: we stand up for a positive workplace, we speak out against discrimination of any kind and we will stop harassment, bullying and racism at NUH.
“We know that the experience of working at NUH has and continues to be very difficult for some of our colleagues. This is not the organisation we want to be and all of us must play our part to ensure that NUH is a positive, inclusive and diverse organisation.”
The Charter commits to increasing the support for those who experience discrimination, as well as improving diversity and equality of opportunity within the workplace.
Published on the NUH website today, the Charter will initiate a programme of change to policies and procedures within the Trust designed to ensure that the anti-discrimination pledges are hard-wired into the way the organisation operates.
Speaking at the Inclusion Event, Anthony May said: “Since joining NUH, I have received reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination. This will not be tolerated in our organisation and I am committed to act on all types of unacceptable behaviour.
“We are making progress and I am hopeful, but there is more to do. The launch our new Charter is the Trust’s commitment to becoming an anti-discriminatory organisation. I encourage everyone at NUH to take the opportunity to check themselves against the Charter and support their colleagues to do the same.
“As Nottinghamshire’s biggest employer and as a hospital Trust that cares for more than one million patients a year, we are in a unique position to stand up for diversity and to be a voice and force for change.”
Onyi Enwezor BEM, a senior nurse who shared her own experiences of bullying, harassment and racism at NUH, said: “We are on a journey and it takes time to change culture, but we are now acknowledging the hurt, and we are clear that any form of discrimination will not be tolerated. Our new Charter puts in place the things we will do to be better and empower our staff to speak out.”
Aquiline Chivinge MBE, Assistant Director of Nursing and organiser of the Inclusion Event, said: “NUH is for everyone and the launch of our new Charter is a very important milestone that shows we are serious about inclusion. The support from our leadership team is incredible, and I encourage all my colleagues to make a pledge and review their mind-set for inclusion.”
Find out more here: https://youtu.be/sTdVKDCKai0