Provocations Seminar Series 2 - Sixth Provocation

Led by Lilian Otambeye

20 November 2024, 12pm

The session will be based on two interlinked studies exploring the lived experiences of minoritised NHS employees living and working with visible (race/ethnicity) and invisible (mental health difficulties).

Black and Minority Employees (BME) working in the NHS account for over 20% percent (NHS England, 2023) of the workforce, however findings in Study 1 showed that they continue to experience discrimination, harassment, inequalities in access and opportunities, unfair and disproportionate treatment, lack of career progression, incivilities and exclusions at work. These experiences have an impact on their wellbeing, job performance and level of patient care. Similarly, in study 2, we found that healthcare staff with invisible differences, in this study – the lived experience of mental health difficulties, also faced discrimination, stigma, unfair treatment and exclusions at work. In turn, these also impacted on their wellbeing, self-esteem, personal development and job performance.

So, what can we do as colleagues, managers and leaders to improve the working lives of our colleagues?

In our provocation session, we will seek to create an understanding of the challenges experienced by healthcare workers with visible and invisible differences, the impact of these experiences on the individuals, their teams and the organisation; and our roles as change agents, mitigators and influencers in responding to these challenges.

Our overarching aim will be to create awareness and enable participants develop ‘Reflective Competencies’ needed to approach and support the necessary change required to better the experiences of those with visible and invisible differences working in the NHS.

Host or Publisher NHS R&D NORTH WEST