BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2016

Black History Month looks at the achievements, culture, contributions and experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in our society. This exhibition focuses on our Trust colleagues.

For the first time, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is marking Black History Month. On these posters and in their own words, BAME staff tell their stories.

The national initiative to ‘Bring back the Matron!’ bought me to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2002. Now, as Deputy Associate Director of Nursing for

Division B, I cover a wide variety of disciplines: liver medicine and surgery, cardiac surgery and cardiology as well as the largest renal unit in Europe – to name a few.

I never really meant to be a nurse. In the 1970s, there was a recession and I needed to work. A friend of mine was a porter at Moseley Hall Hospital and he told me they were advertising for Nursing Assistants, so I thought I may as well go and earn some money. I had an interview and started work thinking, “Gosh - I don’t know what this is all about”.

So one night shift after talking to a registered nurse, I decided that I would do my training.

My nurse training started in 1980 at Selly Oak Hospital. It was a hospital that had a school of nursing, as did City and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was not seen as a place that would be advisable to apply; it was known in the community to be not favourable towards taking on people of colour. The Queen Elizabeth was ‘white, middle-class Britain’ - but now you can see there is a lot more diversity.

It surprised a lot of Afro-Caribbean nurses at the time who were registered. They’d say, “Oh, you’re a student nurse, not a pupil nurse?”. it was because my qualifications were sufficient enough to be a student nurse, but a lot of individuals were corralled into going down the enrolled nurse route instead of the registered nurse route.

I did actually stand out as different, even in my culture and social circle, as a black male nurse. Patients would be surprised. There are lots more now as they have come from South Africa and other countries and of course, there were black females nursing but they were told to do enrolled nurse training.

Until the initiative to have one level of nurse, many of those enrolled nurses would have remained as enrolled nurses and they would have never been given the opportunity to convert. This would mean you could never become a ward sister, charge nurse, or staff nurse. Black nurses were encouraged to go down that route; some didn’t know the difference. It was a deliberate attempt by some individuals to hold people back.

Nurse education has changed. Now you don’t have two people sitting in a room in front of a person, thinking, “Depending on how we think about you, we’ll decide the career route you’ll go”. Students today apply with their academia and that’s what they are judged on.

It’s different in London where there would probably be more Afro-Caribbean people in senior positions but, the further north you get I think it is seen less. There is more to be done - but it is happening.

I remember a few years ago when we had Celebrating Nurses Day and I got given the job of formulating a poster. I put on the poster Florence Nightingale; I put on it Edith Cavell, and included Mary Seacole. I was surprised that people didn’t know who Mary Seacole was. Subsequently, she’s become well known, but at the time I thought, “Well black people have made a contribution to healthcare too” - but it’s still largely unknown.

My mother is from Jamaica, St. Elizabeth, and my father is from Guatemala, but he grew up in Jamaica. It’s like

the UK but instead of counties, you have parishes; St. Elizabeth is the parish where my mother was born and they have a lot of fair skinned people there. I imagine they were invited to Britain to work, but they’re no longer here. Canada was offering jobs with a lot more money, so my family emigrated there in 1977.

My surname, Murdock, is a Scottish name; I couldn’t tell you how I got this name. I don’t know who it came from. It’s like Cassius Clay changing his name to Muhammed Ali as he said it was his slave name. It is difficult for Afro-Caribbean people to trace their family tree. Members of my family were owned by people. They were slaves.

The 70s was an interesting decade for this country; we had the first generation of Afro-Caribbean people born in the UK. We had two cultures. When we were in school we were in England. When you were at home, if your parents were from Jamaica or St. Kitts, Trinidad or Barbados, that is where you were. They created the home as they would have if they were back in the Caribbean. We had our own Caribbean food and we moved between the two cultures.

In junior school, we weren’t treated any differently. Teachers were pastoral towards us. No matter what colour you were, you were a kid. The difference became apparent when we went into senior school. They would take us on school trips, to the seaside and places like that, and the people that lived in the seaside weren’t used seeing black people. They saw black people in movies like Tarzan. They would come up to you and touch your skin and pull your hair to see if it was real.

Christian values are strong in the Afro-Caribbean community. We were encouraged as school children to achieve the best we could to get the qualifications to get us into university or medical school.

Many people would have loved to have become doctors and things like that. Afro-Caribbean people, particularly at that time, were working class. Their parents worked from 6 in the morning until late at night, it was more than the 40 hour week, and they needed to keep a roof over their head.

Our parents wanted their kids to do well, but if the child felt like they were getting a raw deal at school our parents would be less likely to go to the school to challenge authority. My generation with children would be the opposite. Our parents thought it was right to not challenge authority, but as many that came to the UK from the Caribbean, twice as many went to America.

The ‘American Negro’, post slavery, was used to getting a raw deal. When Afro-Caribbean people went to America and they were working on the conveyor belt in Detroit, and they are seeing the way that people are talking to them, they questioned why they are being spoken to like that. They helped to start the Civil Rights movement.

There were not always the figureheads like Martin Luther King but it came from that ground swell.

Today I think that it’s good if you come to this organisation, regardless of your ethnicity. If you have a dream or an aspiration and if you can work hard, you can get there. I don’t think today that being a black man holds me back.

CarltonMurdock

Deputy Associate Director of Nursing for Division B

The Queen Elizabeth was ‘white, middle-class Britain’ - but now you can see there is a lot more diversity.

I’m Afro-Caribbean but I refer to myself as Black British as I was born in Meriden. It’s the most central place in England; you can’t get any more English than

that.

My parents are from Jamaica and came here in the early 60s. My father came to Britain first in 1960 and my mother in 1961. I was the celebration of that nine months later - one of seven but I was the first born here.

Like many in the Caribbean, my parents were invited to Britain to come and work. The first settled on Cuthbert Road, near City Hospital. The road doesn’t exist anymore. We lived in rooms when I was very young, and I remember that they were dark and dingy, I remember one room on Rotton Park Road in Edgbaston and can remember being looked after by an Asian lady who used to make chapatis. She used to cook for me and my young sister. It was difficult to get a child minder in those days.

I just about remember the 60s but I recall being different, that we were different, and we were stared at a lot. Just recently I watched a programme about the most racist place in Britain and it was in Cape Hill around where I grew up.

At school, I don’t remember much racism taking place by other children but by my teacher I do.

It was during a subject called Current Affairs and we were 13 years old,and the teacher said, “All you n****** should go back to the Caribbean”. One of the other girls replied, “Sir, you can’t say that!”. He responded, “I can say anything I want!”. I can remember that clearly.

I don’t remember the Race Relations Act but I remember at the time hearing stories about Enoch Powell. It’s very difficult to describe the feelings but my parents will say they didn’t experience racism. You dig a bit deeper and you find they did.

My father once spoke about knocking on doors, with signs that said ‘No dogs, no Irish, no blacks’, and people not answering those doors. Trying to find somewhere to live, or trying to buy a house was difficult.

My parents both worked hard in factories, but mum was quite bright. She went and got some O-levels and got a job as a clerical typist at Birmingham City Council. She was the only black person in the office, and she did that job until she retired – but they both pushed us children to do well.

I trained as a nurse in 1981 and I had all the required qualifications. I applied at different hospitals, but when I went for the interview I didn’t actually get a place, even though I had the qualifications. However, All Saints responded telling me they were looking for mental health nurses. I didn’t really know what that involved then but I went for the interview and they told me that they would only be able to offer me a place as a pupil nurse to do enrolled nurse training. That was all they were going to be able to offer and I didn’t know the difference.

In the late 70s there were particular hospitals where you knew you might get a place. But there was no use applying at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital: it was known – the QE didn’t take black staff. So I didn’t even bother applying. Yet I encouraged my husband to apply here.

It was normalised, it was accepted, and we didn’t challenge it. Despite not knowing where the hospital was, I just didn’t apply here – because that’s what the community understood.

Our uniforms were the same. Pupil nurses and student nurses were the same and it wasn’t until we got our caps that we had green stripes, and the student nurses had blue stripes. I tried to change to become a student nurse and they wouldn’t let me.

I experienced racism from patients, but I would treat them all the same. Staff were never racist but despite pushing to convert after I have finished my enrolled nurse training they kept on saying no – though eventually they were worn down, because they opened up two places.

There were 20 of us that went for those two places, 18 black enrolled nurses, and two white men, and we sat and completed a maths and English test – despite having the qualifications already. All 18 black enrolled nurses were told we had failed. I asked to see my test paper and they said they had lost it. They told me to return in three months’ time. When I went back they wouldn’t let me do it.

When I worked in the mental health hospital, many of the patients had been there for decades but they didn’t have visitors, even when there were still relatives. I looked at why they didn’t they visit, so I completed a project for the ward I was on.

I sought out the names and addresses and invited in all of the relatives to a social on the ward – I did it all on my own, I invited the West Birmingham Health Authority and all the important ‘big wigs’ and bosses and it was great. My husband came to take photographs and it was fantastic to see all these patients with their relatives.

The chairman of the hospital who visited the event at the time wrote to the staff nurse on the ward to congratulate him. The staff nurse apologised, but there was nothing I could do.

I always wanted to be a nurse, I used to watch a program me called Angels and dress up as a nurse. I loved it. But I was frustrated and angry that I was seen as not good enough.

So, having been turned down to convert, despite my ability, and not getting the recognition of my hard work, I left nursing and went into teaching – for 20 years. They lost a damn good nurse.

On two occasions in the six years I have been a Training Facilitator at QEHB, I’ve been in my training room and someone has come into the room while I’ve been delivering a session and asked me where the trainer is. But I think that is unconscious bias more than racism. They didn’t expect to see a black trainer.

But I believe the NHS has moved on now, I hear stories from colleagues who are also black who haven’t had any problems - they were able to convert. But at the time, and still now at the back of my head (despite now having a degree and a masters), it made me feel that I was stupid because enrolled nurses were always looked down upon. I was made to feel not bright enough because I am black.

Annette Adkins

Training Facilitator

I just about remember the 60s, but I recall being different, that we were different, and we were stared at a lot.

Two days a week I help to manage 90 men and women who work in the regeneration kitchens across the hospital. The other three days a week I

mainly look at policies and represent staff at disciplinary hearings.

For around 18 years I have worked for the NHS, but to begin with I went to the College of Food to learn how to be a chef and worked in a lot of hotels around the city. But the hours weren’t to my liking.

My mum wanted me to work in the NHS so I applied and started work in a hospital in 1999. I started as a cook, then a year later a job came up to be a supervisor in the kitchen, so I went for the job and got it.

Apart from my mum having an impact on where I should work, I liked the atmosphere, and I wanted to be a part of patient care. I’ve experienced cooking within mental health and now I also deal with any patient complaints, as well creating meal plans for patients. I enjoy the overall patient contact.

I’ve never experienced racism at work myself, although I have been aware of it happening. I can say my voice is heard and I can’t say I’ve ever been looked down upon or spoken to in any way. But if you look at lots of senior positions in the Trust, it does make me feel and question why there isn’t better representation of BAME staff. Some people would say it’s racism but I’d like to think if somebody studies hard to get where they’re going they’d be given those opportunities.

There are enough policies and procedures to tackle a lack of senior BAME representation; we just have to use what’s available. It doesn’t move me as much as to say we’re discriminated against, but there is more potential to be discriminated against if there is not wider more diverse representation. We have to use what’s available to us and I would hope that anyone who experiences racism or discrimination would excavate the root cause for the next person experiencing it to benefit from lessons learned.

We have had members of staff come to Staff Side and say they have experienced racism. I think that when you get to the bottom of it you find that sometimes you have to look within yourself; I always say if there is no explanation for discrimination, that racism has to be looked into - but it shouldn’t be said for the sake of saying it. It actually becomes harder for the person who genuinely experiences racist discrimination.

I think there has been a slight change in attitudes over time; and I think that people are aware that racism and prejudice is still happening. I think that what has helped is that there are a lot more laws and there’s a big Equality Act, and a belief we should just treat people the way we’d want to be treated.

My parents were from Portland, Jamaica. They came over in the early 60s. My dad was working in a factory and my mum was a nurse for over 30 years. I was the last of seven children.

Their intention was always to go back home but for a better life for their family, they stayed and, in deciding to stay they integrated. They made an effort to integrate - and I think that’s the ethos in many other countries. I believe if you move to a new country then you should integrate. My parents were called to Britain after the War in order to help with rebuilding the nation.

I think the Church was part of what helped those emigrating from the Caribbean to integrate, though they faced prejudice as they were seen as noisy as they

worship differently, and maybe the Church of England at the time probably found that a bit too boisterous. But at the same time, Caribbean people shared the same Christian morals, and anybody that needed to would go to the church for advice. And a lot of people in the Caribbean community didn’t have a choice about going to church. It was almost a requirement in our families, that was how I was brought up.

The Caribbean community in Birmingham was all about the family: working hard and building a base, building a home. But back then we couldn’t even get a council house and we lived in rooms. If you had family you brought them over and they’d be enrolled as child minders. During some summers I would stay with my aunt; she was strong and you wouldn’t mess with her. In those days even coppers could give you a clip around the ear and nothing would be said if you played up.

Discipline was always strong in our community. It probably wouldn’t stop you getting into trouble sometimes but at the same time the discipline was there and you knew what you would get if the coppers brought you home, or if you were cheeky to any elders, or to your teachers.

Racism in school was something I experienced, I remember one particular lady, she was an elderly lady, I was in junior school and I was playing up. She looked at me and said, “Why don’t you go back to your own country!” I told the head teacher in disbelief but he told me that she wouldn’t have said that, though I heard it clear as day. I do remember that she looked disgusted with herself when she said it. I think that was my first experience of racism.

Apart from that, you just have to carry on. Some things affect you and some don’t. For me, it should be clear so that it’s resolved and dealt with rather just saying that you think something is racism. I think it’s just a matter of people looking within themselves because being racist doesn’t just happen overnight.

If I had experienced blatant racism in the NHS I would have no problem challenging that and saying so, but since there has been a big equality push there are real laws protecting people now.

Prejudice, inequality and racism don’t serve a purpose. If someone is qualified to do a job, they should get the job based on merit and what they’re able to do.

I’m glad to be a part of Black History Month, and to be honest I didn’t expect it. To see it here at UHB, for me, it’s a step in the right direction. Some will be cynical, but I think we need to embrace the fact that it is happening.

My message for Black History Month would be centred on equality. We’re all striving for the same thing. Be more culturally aware and give everyone a chance.

Barry Panton

Catering Team Leader and Staff Side Union Representative

I think there has been a slight change in attitudes over time; and I think that people are aware that racism and prejudice is still happening.

I work as a Chaplain in UHB’s multi-faith team providing spiritual, religious and pastoral care to patients, relatives and staff. I started working for

UHB as a volunteer, and then a vacant position as a chaplain became available about 18 months into my time volunteering. I applied for the post and I’ve been here ever since.

Before starting work at the QE, I worked for a number of years in education but the position was no longer fulfilling my aspirational needs. The context in which I worked was transitioning in a direction I did not appreciate and I was in pursuit of something more challenging and purposeful. I was interested in helping vulnerable people in need of support in different contexts.

My heritage is Black British and my parents were from Jamaica. My father came to Britain in 1961 and my mother arrived in the UK in 1962. Interestingly, whilst my heritage is Jamaican, my mother’s maiden name is McTaggart and her decedents are Scottish, and my father has some British heritage too. We have established that our family names have originated from slavery.

My parent’s decided to immigrate to Britain as they had seen British jobs advertised to help rebuild the country as there was a shortage of labour and poor economy following World War One. In order to prepare the way, my father arrived first and settled in Gloucester initially. My mother and father then moved to Worcester, where I was born and grew up.

I guess I was aware of racism from around the age of seven due to a neighbour’s vindictive behaviour towards us. They were very ignorant, hated us and expressed this in many ways to our family. It was very traumatic to see my mother and father upset. The police were called many times.

School life and relationships were more tolerable. I remember children being very inquisitive about the texture of my hair, colour of my skin. I even remember children asking if our blood was red. They had seen affirmative images black people in the media such as magazines and TV, but they hadn’t actually seen many in real life, so to actually share lessons with someone with a different skin colour and culture, they were really intrigued. This is understandable if they had not had the education of Black Afro-Caribbean’s through travel or education. Their knowledge probably came from popular soap operas and media personalities at that time.

Following my marriage in Stoke-on Trent our family moved to Birmingham to be closer to my parents and extended families. We also realised that there would be more opportunities in a larger, multicultural city for our daughters.

Having worked in education for many years, I did not experience racism in my role. The students were friendly; especially if you could empathise and begin to understand their personal story. It was amazing to work with some of the most aggressive students who had been excluded from other schools due to their abusive behaviour.

Whilst working at QEHB I have not personally experienced racism. I am not sure if that’s because I am not looking for it, based on my approach in life, but I have not personally experienced any incident that I can clearly describe as “racism”. In our Chaplaincy team, we cultivate an inclusive and welcoming culture. We work in a multi-faith, multi-cultural department which means we appreciate each other’s differences and we work together in a respectful way.

My work as a Christian Chaplain does not only focus on supporting those from the Christian community. Along with my colleagues, I support all patients, colleagues and visitors as they wish to be treated, whether or not they have a faith or belief. We understand that all people have needs, longings and concerns; they want to feel valued, respected and listened to. The service we offer is patient-led and referrals are made from the patient, their families or staff, especially where patients feel isolated and lonely, if they have specific religious, spiritual or pastoral needs, or are nearing the end of their lives. It is so encouraging to experience patients finding their own ways of communicating what matters most to them.

My Christian faith originated from my family’s upbringing as we were involved church life whilst I was growing up. However, this slowly came to an end as my parents religious needs were not being met as deeply as needed in the church they were then attending. My parents were always in search of a faith tradition similar to their own. Some churches sadly shut the door on the black community during those years.

Having somebody of faith to call upon in the midst of uncertainty and isolation was extremely important because it began to foster hope and trust. The Christian message is essentially one of love and hope and a trusting relationship with a God who cares – someone to call upon. The majority of Black Afro-Caribbean’s and Black African’s roots originate from the colonisation and missionaries who brought the Gospel in ships from thousands of miles away. Black Afro-Caribbean’s and Black Africans have continued to develop those traditions and build a relationship with a conviction that God is real, and so have continued for many generations until we now have many black majority churches in this country.

I think that celebrating Black History Month at UHB is an exciting and important initiative. As a Trust we need to be aware of the diverse needs and experiences of our patients, visitors and staff whether they are religious or not. Seeing this understanding and representation at all levels within large organisations such as UHB is really important. Personally I find it encouraging seeing Black Caribbean/African colleagues in senior positions. The feeling is similar to when Barack Obama and his family moved into the White House and thinking, “Wow! This is achievable …anything is possible!

Jackie Gayle

Chaplain

In our team, we cultivate an environment of equality and diversity. We work in a multi-faith, multicultural department.

My role at QEHB is to look after patients with dementia or learning disabilities, or any kind of cognitive impairment as part of the Dignity

in Care Team. We make sure that staff are seeing the person rather than their condition, so we are trying to promote dignity for these patients whilst they’re in hospital.

We also try to get dignity champions on each ward; at the moment we have over 200 champions on nearly every ward in the hospital.

My parents were from Jamaica. My mother came from a place called Rock, which is in Clarendon, and my father came from Vere which was a farming community in Clarendon.

My dad met my mother at a dance, then went on to get married and have eight children: five girls and three boys. My dad came to England when he was in his 30s then my mom followed afterwards as was usual with black communities and families.

The children that were born in Jamaica stayed in Jamaica until our parents were set up in England. My eldest sister came first and she is 10 years older than me - I was four when I met her. My dad started off living in London then, when other family members came over to England, they all bought a house together in Dudley and we all lived together until each person went out and bought their own home for their family.

It was a really supportive family environment because when our dad first moved to this area, there were the usual signs of ‘no blacks, no dogs, and no Irish’. When he went from door-to-door no one would talk to him. If he knocked on a door where they were advertising a room the women wouldn’t come to the door if it was a black man standing there.

I started training at Selly Oak on September 20th 1985, and worked there for most of my life until we moved to the new hospital in 2010. When I applied to start my course at Wolverhampton I went for an interview. They said I had a lisp so patients wouldn’t understand me, I haven’t got a lisp, but that was their reason, Selly Oak Hospital was the place that actually took me on.

There have been a few negative experiences, mainly coming from the patients. Sometimes they think they can say and do anything and you’ve just got to take it because you’re a nurse.

I’ve been called “n****” and I’ve been told, “I don’t want blacks looking after me”. Things like that.

There was this one time that stands out in particular. He was a former policeman, and he was an alcoholic. He’d say, “You’re a black b******” and, “You can’t touch me”. At the time you say, “Well that’s fine then, I don’t have to nurse you” then I’d leave. He would then say to the doctor, “Order her to come back in here and wash me, that is her job!” The doctor refused and said she’s not

ordering me anywhere because you are being racist – she wouldn’t stand for it.

At the time I let it go over my head and just thought there is no point doing anything about it because he was who he was, and he wasn’t going to change. There was no point getting angry over it. I just left him to it. It hurt him more that I wasn’t then interacting with him because I didn’t have to. He couldn’t understand why the doctor wouldn’t order me back in the room.

I felt supported that the doctor defended me and my manager at the time was excellent. She came from an Irish background - so she wasn’t going to stand for any rubbish either. So I did feel supported when things like that happened.

It doesn’t really happen anymore, not for years. I think the last time I had it, it was a back-handed compliment: “You’ve done well for a black person.” But that is the era some of our older patients come from and they don’t think that they are being racist. She thought she was being nice to me. That was a few years ago. You just think, “well, thank you for the compliment”.

Like I said, I don’t let it get to me. If that is the attitude of some people then that’s fine; I’m not going to let it worry me. The majority of people are absolutely wonderful; it’s just the odd one or two that you will come across. And yes, some people have changed and in six years of doing this particular job, I’ve never had anybody be racist.

I know people who feel like they’ve been held back because of the colour of their skin but I don’t feel like I have been. Sometimes some black staff tell me that some younger white people get promoted over older black people, and have told me they have experienced that here, but I’ve not faced it myself.

My advice to those starting in the NHS right now is that it is best to be themselves and they have got to be strong because if you’re not strong and you let the slightest little thing get to you, then you’re not going to get on. That is why I try not to take everything personally, even if it’s about my culture; I just move on.

I do believe the Trust does need to get back in touch with the people on the ground and the black people on the ground, especially around making them feel comfortable and confident enough to advance and develop.

Juliet Miller

Dignity in Care Dementia Clinical Nurse Specialist

Like I said, I don’t let it get to me, if that is the attitude of some people then that’s fine, I’m not going to let it worry me

Based in IT I manage multiple different teams; the project delivery team and project support, the integration and automation team – the people

who put the wires together so our systems can talk to each other, as well as the testing, IT security and the development team.

I’ve been at UHB for two and a half years after spending a number of years in the private sector. Before my current role I started at UHB as a programme manager and before it all I actually was a nurse. It is quite a leap but my job doesn’t really cover the technical part of IT, but is more focussed around the systems and processes involved in clinical IT systems, so I’m in a good position to say, “well, no, that doesn’t work for a nurse or a clinician”.

My parents are from Punjabi in India, and we are Sikh, but I’m not really religious at all.

My mother came to Britain in the late 1960s, and my father arrived in Britain a year after her. They both came searching for a better life and met here, and settled in Leicester.

I think they settled in Leicester as my uncle and grandfather were there too on my mother’s side, and my father’s sister lived in Leicester too at the time.

Initially they isolated themselves, and stuck to the people they knew, so it was quite a small circle, mostly of family. They have never really talked about racism and how they were treated differently when they first came. My first memory of where we lived - it was inner city Leicester and there were many different people of a variety of ethnic minorities in that area - was that it was probably a 50-50 split of ethnic minorities to white British people. I thought that we were quite integrated but thinking about it, they really only had their family as their social circle.

Growing up we didn’t go to the Gurdwara often. My mother took us perhaps us every two or three months, and now she goes almost weekly, and my brother and his family goes quite regularly. My father hardly goes – like me, he goes when he has to. We’re the odd ones out.

The first friend that I remember having was white and my group of friends, around five or six of us, they were all white too. At school I never experienced racism. I’m either oblivious to it, or ignore it.

In my personal life I have experienced some racism, I was called a ‘paki’ but I can put that down to ignorance, and they knew no better. Once when I was young, I do remember having to get back into the house as a group of skinheads were running down my road after some trouble in a park nearby. This was the 1970s. There was this car parked at the end of the road and they were running all over it.

I think my social circle is quite mixed and varied. And I do go out sometimes and to some places and have noticed that I’m the only Asian there, but it is not something I have to think about, because I can just be

me and not really ever think about that. My friends think of me as me and not as an Indian girl. That cascades into my attitude towards work and the people around me like me for me.

Lots of my friends have experienced racism. They’ve been called various names, and ignored in shops and restaurants. Some of them have been overlooked for jobs. One friend that felt she had been overlooked for promotion in the NHS because of the colour of her skin.

But I’ve never felt or experienced racism in the workplace. In the first trust I worked at, I was part of the BAME group as they needed representatives, so I was nominated and many around the table discussed their experiences in the workplace. I put it down to that I’ve been fortunate.

I think that in some organisations, a lack of senior BAME representation puts people off applying for some roles, but I’m not sure if it completely holds anyone back.

I think if there is more of a mix of people, then more people will believe that the opportunities are there and they can achieve.

For example, I initially applied for the programme manager role here, and 15 months later I also achieved my current Head of role. I remember my director at the time telling me that this organisation usually likes to promote from within – which tells me you don’t really get the job if you’re not the best person for it.

I think what we are seeing is quite a varied experience of racism. Maybe I’m oblivious to racism and prejudice. But what I find is more challenging in IT the most is being female: it is a male dominated environment that has perhaps held me back more.

Though, IT is a very diverse group of people with many different origins. It is possible that actually more people these days people are accepted for the skills they have. In particular in my team, because they are very highly skilled individuals in a very niche market, they are all respected because of their individual skill set.

Within IT, as long as you have the skills and ability, you have the opportunity. And I think I do a good job. I wouldn’t have achieved my second role here at UHB if I didn’t. And I tick the British Asian box on the HR forms.

With Brexit, there have been these discussions about an increase of hate, and whether hate has shifted across from one group to other groups of people. But I think it was always there. Maybe some media doesn’t help, but perhaps people are getting better and more confident at reporting incidents.

Overall, there has been a change in attitudes but I don’t think that is the case for everyone. It is still a mixed bag out there.

Kam Rai

Head of Programme Delivery and Development

Lots of my friends have experienced racism, they’ve been called various names, and ignored in shops and restaurants...

I’m one of the Infection Prevention and Control clinical nurse specialists. Fundamentally my role is about ensuring patients receive safe and harm free care

particularly related to the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections. As part of my role I see patients if they have an infection; I let them know what that means for them and their care, providing support to patients and their families often through a very difficult time. I also provide education and training to staff about infection prevention and control, a role I immensely enjoy. I also work to ensure high standards of infection control and hygiene are maintained within the Trust.

I have worked at the Trust for just over two years. After completing most of my training at Heartlands Hospital I fell in love with the infection control speciality as I worked on the infectious diseases unit and C.difficile cohort ward there. I then went and worked at City Hospital for five years on their 10 bedded infectious diseases unit.

My Dad was Jamaican and my mum is White British - so I am mixed race. My Dad was born in Jamaica, but he sadly passed away when I was quite young so I know very little about the Jamaican side of my heritage and have few memories of my Father. I do however vividly remember his strong Jamaican accent. I am also very blessed to have a fantastic Step Dad, who also has a mixed heritage. His dad was French African and his Mom is White British. I am planning to go to Jamaica next year to ‘get in touch with my roots’ and explore my Jamaican heritage with my identical twin sister a bit more.

My Dad’s parents came to Britain first from Jamaica, and then his siblings came. My Dad was actually one of the last of the family to arrive - it was during the 1980s. I was born in 1988 with my twin sister.

My parents were very much initially judged when they were together and they did face a lot of adversity in the early days because of being in a mixed raced relationship. I think I was very fortunate to grow up in my family, with a very strong, inspiring and accepting Mother in part because of the difficulties she had experienced herself.

I’m a born and bred ‘Brummie’ and the city is very diverse and multicultural. For me it has always been the norm to be in such a diverse society, with people of all different races and multicultural backgrounds coming together. This has only ever really enriched and been a positive thing in my life. I am lucky to say I have not experienced any racism that has ever really been hateful or hurtful, only some juvenile comments in infancy when children can make comments without thought or understanding.

Whilst working in the NHS I have experienced the occasional racist offensive comment; which has mostly been offensive language used by patients from the older generation, However, I have never felt that anything that has ever been said to me was said to intentionally cause me upset. I think sometimes it is just about re-educating people and explaining to them to not use certain language – it can simply be about making

people aware and opening people’s eyes to how it can affect others.

In today’s society for the majority of people racism is completely unacceptable. However, if I was to ever witness racism to the extent where someone was being hurtful, aggressive, hateful - then I would step in. Unfortunately, there is still ignorance in the world, prejudice and discrimination still exists, particularly in regards to race and we all have a responsibility to challenge it.

I do feel very lucky that I have not faced racism and prejudice to the extent that others have.

Speaking to my Grandparents, I know that they did and it’s deeply saddening that they were treated so appallingly based on the colour of their skin.

It is a massive shame that there are not many senior BAME staff at the Trust; Deputy Associate Director of Nursing Carlton Murdock is the only person I can think of and is the most senior BAME member of staff that I have worked with. It does make you think, “why is that the case?” I see a lot of aspiring BAME junior nursing staff that want to develop and become more senior within the organisation. So it does makes me wonder and question, “what is stopping BAME staff?” I know there are people out there that really want to succeed.

I do think the Trust participating in activities such as Black History Month is a really positive step towards ensuring all staff feel valued within the Trust. It demonstrates that there is investment by the Trust in all staff regardless of race to succeed and do well in the organisation. I also think celebrating Black History Month using the personal stories of the Trust’s staff is a fantastic idea. It will allow staff to relate to similar experiences shared and I hope it will engage them in a more meaningful way.

I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to share my story; I know I am very lucky that my experiences have been mostly positive and I have never experienced racism to the same extent of some of my other BAME colleagues. I have never felt or been made to feel that my race has ever been a barrier to my development. I am so grateful and thankful to my exceptional infection prevention and control team colleagues whose support has been priceless; colleagues who have only wanted me to succeed and do well at UHB.

Skin colour is no boundary and no limitation and no one should ever be made to feel as it is. We are all human beings and we should always treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves, with respect, free from judgement and without discrimination.

Kerry Holden

Infection Prevention and Control Nurse Specialist

Unfortunately, there is still ignorance in the world, prejudice and discrimination still exists

I’m Indian Gujarati. My father is from Gujarat in India, my mother is African Gujarati and we are Muslim. My mother came from Kenya and moved to Britain before

my father, in the 1970s, with most of her family. When my mother arrived, she came of age to be married to my father, her cousin. I know that sounds a bit weird but it used to be quite common in those days among some Indian families. Essentially, they agreed to marry by looking at each others photographs.

At the time my mother was in Britain, and my father was in India. He is from a city called Surat in Gujarat. He came over to marry my mum, and the rest is history.

It was for a better quality of life that my mum came to Britain. She came from a very poor background and is from a large family. In Kenya, my grandpa was the only one able to work and trying to feed a family of 10 was quite hard.

At the time many Gujarati families in Kenya were moving to Britain because there were more and more restrictions placed on Indians in Kenya by the government after independence. As they found their community had mostly emigrated, they were feeling quite vulnerable. My grandmother had already moved over to Britain at the time, so it made sense for them all to move.

My mum always talks about her job when she first moved to the UK. It was in the local hosiery factory near where we lived in Nuneaton. It was a predominately white area, as most would have been at the time. The factory had two other Indian workers but mum always said she found people helpful.

Mum used to struggle because she never studied English, and never went to school, so coming to Britain and mixing with other people who only speak English was difficult for her, but she found they were always understanding and helpful to her and they would break down the language for her to understand better. She always spoke of the positive experiences.

Growing up and thinking of my school experiences, there was the occasional group that were racist towards me. I had a lot of non-Indian friends, but there was the odd group who were racist. Going to the local park and seeing a group that we knew weren’t friendly, I would refrain from putting myself in that position and keep my distance.

I do remember in the summer, and they were proper summers in those days, it was really hot and being Muslim, I had to cover my skin – though I didn’t wear the headscarf in those days. I remember going to the park and the group of British girls in the park making comments like, “I don’t know how they do it, wearing all those clothes, don’t they get hot?”

So there were the comments every now and then, but I didn’t experience anything at school where it upset me so much that I went home and cried.

Before UHB, I worked at the local hospital in Nuneaton, the George Eliot, and it is different to QEHB. It is a smaller community based hospital with 2,000 staff but the community in which it is based is predominantly Indian Gujarati, and you found that there was a good representation of other people of backgrounds there . I was there for seven years.

I’ve never experienced discrimination at work myself; looking at my employment opportunities to working with my colleagues, managers and other staff, I’ve never experienced that. Actually I believe I’ve had a positive experience of working with others in the NHS.

Working in Human Resources however, you do see others that have experienced it. Sometimes you forget that, because it isn’t happening to you, it does still exist for some people.

Anecdotally, claims of racism to HR are very rare and it is perhaps maybe once or twice a year you will get a staff member who may believe they have been discriminated against or experienced racism.

I think there has been a shift in attitudes from the 70s and 80s. I think people are definitely more accepting of other ethnic backgrounds, religions, beliefs, lifestyles etc.

But I do think that the media doesn’t help. Being a Muslim, things that have been broadcast around terrorism have made me feel more vulnerable. I remember when the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11 after those planes were flown into them, many of my cousins who wear the full face covering had them ripped off their faces. It never happened to me, but you feel a bit more vulnerable and more conscious when out and about now.

Being a Muslim and wearing a headscarf, it identifies you quite uniquely, and if you don’t wear one it offers doubt and you don’t know what religion someone may be.

I haven’t worn it all my life, but you do notice a slight change in people’s attitudes towards you. Sometimes there are still people that say, “Don’t you get hot in that?” Or they’ll say, “When you’re driving and you’ve got your headscarf on, doesn’t it blur your vision?” No! It’s just a piece of material. Others wear hats or scarves, it’s nothing different to those.

I started wearing the headscarf eight years ago. I have a sister who is 11 years younger than me, and she is a lot more practising than I am in terms of my religion. She wore it from the age of 12, and it felt wrong for me as an older sister while she was there putting her scarf on and I was curling my hair. It was on Eid day: I saw her wrapping her scarf and it just felt wrong.

I had wanted to move towards becoming more practising anyway, so this was really a step forward for me and it was just a spur of the moment. I was also starting my HR management course at university, so I thought now is the right time, so nobody at university would know me as anything different.

Wearing a headscarf can be a hard thing to do; it is not an easy decision, you’re changing your appearance. It has changed my attitude towards different things, the way I wear my clothes. Before I would wear short sleeved clothes but I couldn’t do that now. Your whole style changes, and how you behave too, because your scarf identifies you. To me it identifies me as a Muslim, and I am proud to be a Muslim. It’s about having that symbol and I’m not ashamed of it.

I’ve never had any ignorant comments at UHB. I have had lots of questions, but I think that is out of interest, to know about what I do, what is Eid all about, and I get lots of questions around fasting time. But that is just people being curious, not from a negative point of view. It is a good thing.

It is important to celebrate BAME cultures, and I like the fact that there is more of an interest in different groups and in people’s backgrounds. I feel more comfortable here at UHB because there is such a mix in my community now I live in Birmingham compared to Nuneaton. The variety in Birmingham is brilliant.

Munira Khalifa

First Contact Team Leader, Human Resources

Being a Muslim and wearing a headscarf, it identifies you quite uniquely...

My parents came to England from Barbados in the 1960s like many Caribbean families did, to find work and a future.

As the youngest of five, I was the only one born in Birmingham; my siblings were born in Barbados. It was very hard for my mum and dad; they went through a lot of racism when they arrived and had to be living in accommodation with lots of other families and faced a lot of hardship. They were stereotyped and were hurled racist abuse, like ‘monkey’ and ‘n*****r*, and likewise for the Irish families they lived with.

When my parents did find somewhere to live there were six or seven families to one house, and the houses were not kept to a standard. The landlords just wanted the rent. They didn’t care how people lived, but dad was a very proud man so my parents did a lot of the cooking and cleaning with many of these families.

I started to notice prejudice only when I got to secondary school. In fact, at primary school I found the teachers were supportive and they pushed you. My mum would say to me, “You are intelligent, you can do so many things Nadeen” but in secondary school, it was an eye opener.

Initially I applied for grammar school and took and passed the 11+ exam, but we never heard anything back. My mum doesn’t like conflict, so she didn’t fight to say that I’ve passed this test, but neither did she have the knowledge or confidence at the time, so in the end I didn’t go to grammar school. The school was supposed to be the top school in the area at the time.

So I went to a school where I was surprised how teachers treated me. I had a science to teacher who would say, “Oh don’t worry about it Nadeen, you’re just going to have kids”. The assumption was that because you are black, you only know about cooking chicken and rice, and having children.

Teachers were always negative. We had career days, and my headmistress once said to my mum, the same thing as my science teacher did, “Nadeen will probably just have children, so we’re not pushing her to develop”.

Mum was really angry, so much so that in fact, when I did go and get my GCSEs and my A-;evels, she saw the headmistress and told her how I was reaching a good academic status.

I faced racism throughout, from the age of 11, up to year 6 of secondary school. At first I thought that I just want to fit in and want to make friends, but it got to the stage of bullying and it was hard. I did not enjoy secondary school.

When I finished school and college, I went and got a job as a nursing auxiliary, I did about five years working in elderly care at West Heath and I started my nurse training on November 25th 1991 at the QE.

My group was 303 and there were 144 student nurses. I lived in accommodation which used to be Nuffield House. Morris House is now where the School of Nursing used to be.

I think it was my second day and I met one of the tutors and in our group of 144 there were three black nurses and one Asian nurse. The tutor asked us to wait after the end of class and he said to us, “You should be honoured to work here, because we don’t take black or Asian student nurses.” I remember that because it made me ambitious.

Throughout three years of training, all I heard was, “You won’t qualify, or, “You won’t get a sister’s position”. But I remember thinking that I would prove him wrong.

As well as ambitious, I was angry, really angry. It was disgusting. It was 1991, he was our tutor and supposed to be there to support us and be our mentor, but he was very negative. The other tutors were not like him, but on some of the wards you worked on there were some staff who did treat you quite badly, they really did.

Certain memories always stick in your head unfortunately, and even though I’ve been here 20 years, and with many more positives than negatives, I’m one of these people who often will look out for others and not me.

I was on a urology ward as a student, and many of the nurses had forgotten that they were student nurses once too, so they gave us a lot of the harder jobs. I remember a staff nurse shout, after a patient had defecated in his bed, “Oh, get that black b****** to clean it up!”

In my first year I wasn’t very confident, I brushed all the snide remarks aside. You’re constantly picked on as the student nurse: “go for a fallopian tube!”, “go for a long stand”, but as a second year a staff nurse had already made my friend cry, and it was as if it was a personal mission to be vile to us. So when that nurse said “get that black b******” I confronted her in the sluice. I said, “I’m not a black b******, we’re meant to be a team and you’re meant to be my mentor, so don’t ever call me a black b******, because I will report you.” I added: “I will clean that patient, but I’ll need you to assist me.”

Looking at the fact that BAME staff are still more likely to be formally disciplined, I’d like to see attitudes change. What I mean by that is staff and managers shouldn’t be making assumptions about people from different ethnicities. See the person as an individual, not by the colour of their skin.

All managers should be made to go on unconscious bias courses. I’m a black nurse, big built, 5’9” and I get the impression sometimes that people are intimidated by that. But I don’t think I’m unapproachable, I’m a bit of a softy at times.

There are other stereotypes or assumptions that have been made in the past, like: I am black so I must smoke marijuana - well I’ve never smoked in my life, I’ve even been asked if I wear a hoody when I’m not on duty. No. I don’t. And sometimes patients that aren’t well say things, but I’m going to look after them, whoever they are - that’s my job.

Staff are now coming up to me more, and I’m sharing my experiences with my students when I teach, and they thank me and have told me they have had the same experience. Often, people who are not confident to talk out in groups come and thank me afterwards too, but I remind them they must do something about their experiences. You need to say something to your manager, don’t suffer in silence.

It is nice that the Trust is recognising Black History Month now by sharing our experiences because there are lot of really good nurses of ethnicity out there, and I’m proud to be one of them.

Nadeen Proverbs

Clinical Educator

It is nice that the Trust is recognising Black History Month now by sharing our experiences, because there are lot of really good nurses of ethnicity out there, and I’m proud to be one of them.