Director of Midwifery part of team that win HSJ’s NHS Race Equality Award 2022
The Trust is delighted to announce that Heidi Beddall, Director of Midwifery, is a member of Turning the Tide oversight group who have won the NHS Race Equality Award at this year’s HSJ Awards.
These awards continue to be the most esteemed accolade of healthcare service excellence in the UK. Following the comprehensive and lengthy assessment process – overseen by a panel of dedicated industry professionals – Turning the Tide went on to win the category for their vital report and subsequent work, standing out amongst a very impressive shortlist.
Their report sets out the experiences of maternity staff and women of Black, Asian and ethnic minority heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic. It makes several recommendations for improvement, one of which is to achieve equity in career development, opportunity and wellbeing for non-white staff and to address current barriers. The Turning the Tide team developed a national mentoring scheme for Black, Asian and ethnic minority midwives and maternity support workers in collaboration with the Royal College of Midwives. So far, almost 30% of mentees have achieved promotion and the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic midwives in senior midwifery leadership positions has increased across the country.
With 1,040 entries and 25 categories, the awards drew attention to the “high-flyers” of healthcare excellence in both the NHS and its partners who strive to improve outcomes and services for both patients and staff alike. Overall, 217 finalists made it to the initial shortlist, from across 163 individual organisations, testament to the high volume of outstanding projects being developed throughout the UK’s health and care services.
Heidi Beddall Director of Midwifery at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust comments; “This recognition from the esteemed judges at the HSJ Awards in the NHS Race Equality Award means a huge amount to everyone involved in this project – what an honour! The impact of winning an HSJ Award will really drive us to build on Turning the Tide for maternity staff and women in our care. It will encourage us to keep exploring ways of improving outcomes and continue to strive for equity in maternity healthcare and work.”
HSJ Editor Alastair McLellan adds; “I’d like to offer my congratulations to Heidi and Turning the Tide being named winner of the NHS Race Equality Award at this year’s HSJ Awards. HSJ Awards shine a light on the outstanding efforts and achievements across the sector. Congratulations again on your brilliant efforts, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you and your colleagues!”
The full list of winners and highly commended categories for the HSJ Awards 2022 can be found on www.awards.hsj.co.uk/winners-2022