SECAmb staff Aspire with new BME group
Monday, 10 November, 2008
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb) has supported the official launch of a new group to engage staff with black, minority and ethnic (BME) backgrounds.
Aspire @ SECAmb will provide a collective voice to promote equality and diversity throughout the Trust and is open to all staff. It will also work with SECAmb to support the recruitment and retention of people from BME backgrounds and to help identify the impact the Trust's work has on BME people and communities.
The group's launch was supported by a two-day event at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey. Developed in partnership with the National Black and Ethnic Minority Committee of the Ambulance Service Network (ASN), the NHS Confederation, the Diversity Forum of the Ambulance Service and SECAmb, the event gave SECAmb staff and members of the public the opportunity to explore a variety of BME themes. These included the role of the ambulance service in tackling health inequalities among black and ethnic minority communities.
Delegates heard from a panel of speakers including SECAmb Chief Executive Paul Sutton, Department of Health National Director for Equality and Human Rights Surinda Sharma, Chair of the National BME Committee of the Ambulance Service Network and SECAmb staff member Leela Solanki, East of England Ambulance Trust Non-Executive Director Jagtar Singh, consultant obstetrician Nick Anjim and consultant psychiatrist Dr Tim Ojo.
The launch, which took place during Black History and Diversity Month, concluded with a Bollywood-inspired evening reception held at SECAmb's Surrey headquarters in Banstead.
Winston Dwyer, Clinical Supervisor at SECAmb and joint chair of Aspire @ SECAmb said, "As a group we will meet to provide a collective voice and to support all staff who want to play a part in promoting equality and diversity here at SECAmb. We are committed to being a force for constructive dialogue, which through action makes a practical difference and delivers a world-class service for all our patients and the communities we serve."
SECAmb Chief Executive Paul Sutton added: "SECAmb values diversity, equal access for patients and equality of opportunity for staff. Equality and diversity is best addressed not as a single issue, but through everything we do."
