A West Midlands healthcare Trust has been recognised for its excellent work in diversity and inclusion in a top awards ceremony.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust scooped the Nursing Times Workforce award for Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice at a glittering event held on Thursday (4 October).

Stuart Young, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, attended the ceremony. He said: “We are honoured to be recognised for this prestigious award and proud of our workforce.

“This was made possible because of the dedication and commitment of staff across the Trust and the tireless work of our staff networks. We are really excited that our initiative which allows staff to bring their ‘whole self’ to work was recognised. It means that employees can be their true self when they are at their workplace. We know that staff who bring their ‘whole self’ to work, deliver higher quality patient-centred care because they are not having to worry about hiding something.”

Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and Organisation Development added: “I am so proud of all of the colleagues who have worked hard on the culture change that has happened, to mean we are a more inclusive employer. Equality and Diversity isn’t a buzz word or something we should be doing here at our organisation. It is a real ambition of the Trust board to educate colleagues and partners in the challenges our colleagues face because of their ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation and it is our privilege to celebrate the beautiful richness of culture, background and experience across our 7,000-strong workforce.”

The inaugural Nursing Times Workforce Awards was held at the Grange Tower Hotel, in London. It recognises and rewards the excellent work that is being done by employers to support the nursing and midwifery workforce. The recruitment team from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, were also shortlisted for the Best Recruitment Experience award. The entries were assessed by a range of healthcare workforce experts and independent specialists.