In the first of a series of reflections on how NHS Providers is embedding anti-racism in all its work, Adam Brimelow looks at the important role the team can play in achieving this goal.
NHS Providers has committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation. As director of communications, I have a great opportunity to learn and lead in pursuit of this shared goal. Alongside that opportunity is a challenge and a responsibility in my approach to life to be actively anti-racist. As we take forward the work in implementing our anti-racism action plan, this feels like a good moment to reflect on how this goal has impacted on me, and how – together with colleagues – I can contribute to progress on this key priority.
This has prompted me to take stock of the advantages and privileges I have often taken for granted as a white middle-class man. Barriers and prejudices that loomed large for others – including close friends and colleagues – have tended to slip off my radar. I always liked to consider myself as anti-racist, but this was rarely "active". Too often I camped down in my comfort zone, and now I reflect on it, was surprisingly incurious about the richness and diversity, but also the challenges, of lives being lived around me.
Our anti-racism work at NHS Providers offered a useful forum to discuss these issues, to access information and extend my learning.
Director of Communications
The sense of shock around the murder of George Floyd and the distressing inequalities exposed by the pandemic led me, like many others, to reflect on the structural and systemic racism permeating our society. Our anti-racism work at NHS Providers offered a useful forum to discuss these issues, to access information and extend my learning. It has made me more aware, more understanding and more vigilant. That has been challenging and at times uncomfortable. But it has also helped me to see what I can do as director of communications to make a difference.
The announcement of our anti-racist statement and plan at our Annual Conference and Exhibition last November felt like an important step forward, not only in expressing, but following through on our commitment. It strengthened our credibility in advocating for race equality and supporting our members to address racism in their own organisations.
Communications will have a key role to play in shaping, explaining, promoting and evaluating what we do. We know that prioritising diversity and inclusion delivers improved NHS performance and better outcomes for patients. That is at the heart of our mission as a membership organisation. By bringing an unequivocally anti-racist approach to all that we do – in our language, speakers, imagery and our content, as well as in our work with partners and across our teams internally – communications will be vital in building, measuring and celebrating our progress.
We have strength in diversity in our communications and marketing team. This was invaluable in shaping the priorities set out in our team action plan, and we will play our part in supporting and delivering the wider workstreams on staff recruitment, talent management, representation and data. Our team plan describes a set of actions focusing on marketing, media, digital and internal communications, alongside some top-level directorate commitments. Although the reporting and evaluation of progress is still taking shape, in the last year we have seen some notable positive developments that show how we are taking opportunities to be more inclusive in our communications, both internally and externally.
We have worked to promote race equality through a number of channels and outputs, including social media, podcasts and videos.
Director of Communications
For example, on recruitment we have worked with the Taylor Bennett Foundation to maximise diversity in our potential pool of applicants. We also drew on their support and expertise at our recent NHS Communicate Conference and Awards as part of our wider work to promote diversity across the communications profession working in the health service. We have worked to promote race equality through a number of channels and outputs, including social media, podcasts and videos.
Our media team has developed closer relations with a greater diversity of reporters and publications, and we are fielding more diverse speakers at our journalists' briefings. We are doing more to celebrate and promote the diversity of our staff team in internal communications, we have updated our style guide to reflect our use of language on race, and race equality will underpin our approach as we develop our website, including its content, imagery and photography.
So, some progress, but this is only a start. As communications director it is my responsibility to follow through on my own commitment to anti-racism, and to support the work of our team and the wider organisation in implementing the anti-racism action plan. We are well placed to make a difference for our members and for patients on an issue where progress has been too slow. I welcome the chance to be a part of that.
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