NHS England’s Midlands nursing team’s work to support ethnic minority nurses and midwives further their careers has been shortlisted for a prestigious award by heath publication Health Service Journal.

The Developing Aspirant Ethnic Minority Leaders (DAL) Programme was launched last year in response to data which evidenced more work could be done to promote diversity in NHS nursing and midwifery leadership. 26% of the nursing and midwifery workforce come from a BAME background, higher in some localities, compared to only 2.6% of provider chief nurses.  The DAL Programme was designed by ethnic minority nurses and midwives for ethnic minority nurses and midwives aiming to provide holistic, bespoke professional leadership support including executive sponsorship, reciprocal mentoring, a leadership stretch assignment, masterclasses, the Mary Seacole Leadership Development, action learning sets, career support and financial management.

The DAL programme is about to enter its second year with a cohort of 33 nurses and midwives starting in October.

Developing Aspirant Ethnic Minority Leaders Programme

Over 1000 entries were received for the HSJ Awards 2022, with 219 projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist (from across 162 organisations).

Nina Morgan, Chief Nurse for the Midlands, said: “This is such a fantastic programme that celebrates and promotes the incredible diversity we have in the Midlands. The programme provides aspiring ethnic minority nursing and midwifery leaders with the tools to succeed in a system-based leadership role and is delivered by experts in the field. It has already supported 20 nursing and midwifery leaders and their sponsors from our first cohort, and is set to do the same soon in its second cohort. I am incredibly proud of the programme.”

Afrah Muflihi, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead Midwife from Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust and is one of the participants of the programme said: “The Midlands Aspirant Leadership Programme has provided me with new skill sets and the confidence to grow in my current role and plan my future ambitions, safe in the knowledge I have been enabled to negotiate barriers ahead of me.”

Another participant, Shovpreet Birring, Midwife at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton added: “The course has made me confident and believe in myself, it gives you the confidence to speak up but to conduct myself in a professional manner.

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds; “On behalf of all my colleagues, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate The Developing Aspirant Ethnic Minority Leaders Programme on being shortlisted as a finalist in the category of NHS Race Equality Award. All of the applications represent the ‘very best of the NHS’ and often leave our esteemed panel of judges with an impossible choice!”

The full list of nominees for the 2022 HSJ awards can be found at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/ alongside details of the Awards partners; https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners  The winners will be announced at a ceremony in November.

The judging panel was made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; Sarah-Jane Marsh (Chief Executive, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s FT); David Probert (Chief Executive, University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust); Dr Bola Owolabi (Director Health Inequalities, NHS England and NHS Improvement); Eugine Yafele (Chief Executive, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust); Tracy Allen (Chief Executive Officer, Derbyshire Community Health Services Foundation Trust).