Midlands and East SPF conference 2024
Introduction
The Midlands and East SPF conference, held at Eastwood Hall, Nottingham on Tuesday 3 December, brought together the Midlands and East of England partnership forums and HR and trade union colleagues working across the Midlands and East.
The conference focused on the role of partnership working in tackling health inequalities and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to support the regional workforce. The forum celebrated good work already happening and shared learning to support a continued regional collective effort in these areas.
The event was co-chaired by Alice Sorby, director of employment relations at the Royal College of Midwives and NHS Staff Council EDI Group (EDIG) staff side co-chair; Midlands SPF co-chair Ali Koeltgen, chief people officer for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust; and East of England SPF co-chair Liz Cooke, director of HR and organisational development (OD) at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust.
Morning sessions
National SPF co-chair Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, gave an opening address on the national context for the NHS workforce. He shared insight into the challenges facing the workforce, the direction of the new government and the development of the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan.
Danny and Alice showcased the partnership work taking place in the EDI and health inequalities space at national level. They shared the national SPF’s contribution to the NHS EDI improvement plan and national Workforce Race Equality Standard and Workforce Disability Equality Standard datasets, alongside insight into the work of the SPF’s sexual safety task and finish group. Alice also shared regional SPF achievements in relation to EDI.
Alice and Harjit Bansal, head of EDI at North East London NHS Foundation Trust and EDIG employer vice co-chair, then shared EDIG’s partnership approach to supporting EDI in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. Delegates discussed local implementation of national policy through training and education and a compassionate focus on staff and their needs.
Michelle Gyimah, pay gap strategist and founder of Equality Pays, led a session on how unions and HR colleagues can partner to close pay gap across gender, ethnicity and disability. Delegates received a framework to support increased collaboration between staff side and employers on pay gap work, illustrated with real-life success stories.
Afternoon sessions
Four breakout sessions offered best practice and learning on a range of EDI themes to support organisations locally.
EDI specialists Tendai Ndongwe, head of patient experience at Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, and Harprit Hockley, director of culture and organisational development at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, delivered an interactive workshop on integrating antiracism efforts with broader EDI strategies in the NHS. The session explored the importance of critical thinking, understanding the root causes of inequalities, and taking personal responsibility when addressing racism and its impact on others.
Dr Aisha Awan, director of the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Centre for Healthcare Professionals Education (REACHE), gave a presentation on how REACHE supports the NHS to overcome barriers to employment for refugees and asylum seekers and the potential positive impact on the NHS.
Claire Crump, retention specialist for neurodiversity service Thrive into Work, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, presented on supporting neurodivergent employees in the workplace through reasonable adjustments. Attendees shared that supporting the neurodivergent workforce is an emerging topic and priority.
Staff and employer side colleagues from University Hospitals Northamptonshire shared their progress in promoting race equality and addressing LGBTQ+ health inequalities and how partnership working is key to their success.
With reference to Roger Kleine’s Too Hot to Handle report, they set out the trust’s ongoing cultural transformation journey, which has included a rethinking racism educational programme for staff to help unlearn racism. Attendees discussed challenges in tackling racism, such as addressing ‘banter’, and the importance of education over a punitive approach.
Final session and summary
Anne-Marie Archard, senior leadership and OD consultant at The King’s Fund, closed the day with a session on how individuals can make a difference in the EDI and health equity space. She spoke about the importance of being observant, of addressing offensive behaviour by ‘calling it in’ or ‘calling it out', and of collaboration, connection and solidarity.
Delegates left the event with practical ideas to apply in their own lives and the motivation to drive positive change on these issues.
