The Association of NHS Charities, operating as NHS Charities Together, is a federation of over 250 charitable organisations that support the National Health Service through charities like the Royal Berks Charity.
Fundraising for NHS Charities Together has been at an all-time high since Covid-19 came into our lives, as the NHS has become the forefront of people’s minds.
The Royal Berks Charity are thrilled to have been successful in successfully bidding for £50,000 of funding which will be used to support our BAME communities.
We know that COVID 19 has disproportionally affected BAME communities (staff and patients alike). We also know the prevalence of health inequalities is a factor that has both contributed to this impact and crucially, needs to be a key consideration in our return to a new, but better, normal.
We also know that historically, BAME colleagues across the NHS have reported a poorer experience at work- suffering higher levels of discrimination, bullying and poorer perception of career development opportunities. We want to harness the power of the current race equality movement to deliver improvements for our BAME communities, where improvements in staff and patient experience are hardwired into our new normal. We want to deliver a truly inclusive organisational culture.
Through this £50,000, Royal Berks Charity will support the Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust to;
- Fund dedicated Unconscious Bias training to eliminate unconscious bias for staff and patients alike
- Develop and deliver Cultural Days to promote and celebrate cultural diversity across the organisation and promote understanding within and across BAME and non BAME staff.
- Dedicated a team and stronger network to support and promote BAME issues, including building up and relaunching our BAME Champions network.
- Design Trust-wide communications and education around issues such as white privilege.
This funding comes, in addition, to support from NHS Charities Together earlier in the year which has enabled us to support staff wellbeing in a number of ways through the planned refurbishment of the shower and changing facilities, activity books for patients and staff rooms across our sites, and the purchase of leisurewear for patients who need clothing during their hospital stay.
It is because of all of the wonderful support and inspirational fundraisers, like Sir Tom Moore, and so many of the local community that have fundraised for us, that this has become a possibility and we are thrilled to help provide continued support for the incredible work of the Royal Berkshire Hospital.