We recognise the people who work for us are our greatest asset and when they feel supported and happy in work this positivity reaches those very people we are here for – patients.
We are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation and ensuring that we harness the talents of all our staff fully.
One of the ways we support staff is through the development of specific staff networks that contribute to addressing and solving problems for all under-represented and disadvantaged groups and individuals within our organisation.
We have four staff networks:
- Race Equality Network
- Enabled Network (Enhancing Ability, Learning from Disability)
- Pride Network
- Women’s Network
We believe our staff networks offer a place for staff to come together, share experiences and facilitate learning and development.
Networks assist in the shaping and delivery of organisational strategy and policy, working with us to improve staff experience on specific issues relating to each network.
Find our more about our staff networks below.
Race Equality Staff Network
Our Race Equality network is a place where Black and ethnic minority staff can feel safe and secure to share and discuss issues that are important and matter to them.
The Race equality network offers an opportunity for staff to come together, share experience, develop new skills and make friends.
One in five nurses, more than one in three doctors and one in six of all NHS staff nationally, identify as BAME, but the Workforce Race Equality Standard shows us those staff are:
- less likely to reach senior leadership positions
- more likely to experience harassment, bullying or abuse
- feel less positive about equality of opportunity in their workplace.
The network provides a forum to actively ensure those figures are not representative within Newcastle Hospitals. By coming together as members of a staff network, your voice can be amplified and help lead us to better address these inequalities.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
Enabled Staff Network
Our Enabled network provides shared support and a collective voice for staff to process disability issues and make positive improvements.
Our Enabled (Enhancing Ability, Learning from Disability) staff network aims to bring together members of Newcastle Hospitals who have a disability – including but not limited to physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, long-term conditions, learning difficulties and hidden disabilities – to help employees reach their full potential.
This network provides an open forum for our disabled colleagues to share their experience of the workplace in a supportive and safe environment. It will provide a ‘listening ear’ for our disabled colleagues as well as seeking their views to help shape our inclusion agenda and enable us to focus our efforts on actions that will make the biggest and most positive difference.
The Enabled network is a safe space to discuss improvements and adjustments whilst feeling comfortable doing so.
The disability staff network also supports staff who are carers and we’d encourage staff with caring responsibilities to join. The staff network is committed to recognising and supporting carers bringing together colleagues with different caring responsibilities to provide a supportive network through which to share ideas, challenges and identify solutions.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
Pride Staff Network
Our Pride network aims to ensure that regardless of an employee’s sexual orientation and gender identity, the opportunities are equal and that staff can feel comfortable raising issues and tackling discrimination.
Our Pride network enables LGBTQ+ staff to come together, share information, support and ensure we maintain a comfortable and fully inclusive environment within the Trust.
We continue to be incredibly proud of our work on LGBTQ+ inclusion and were proud to see Newcastle Hospitals recognised as a top 100 Employer by Stonewall in the Workplace Equality Index in 2020 and in 2022 as a Gold Employer. In addition, we were awarded a ‘silver’ accreditation in 2021 as part of the Rainbow Badge Pilot Phase II.
Membership to our Pride Network is open to all staff, irrespective of how they identify, you just need to have an interested in advancing LGBTQ+ equality.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
Women’s Staff Network
Our women’s network aims to ensure that colleagues are comfortable raising issues and tackling topics that affect women to maintain a comfortable and fully inclusive environment within Newcastle Hospitals.
We enable staff to come together and talk about their experiences, gain support from each other, share information and develop new skills.
The network includes anyone supporting women’s issues as allies working together to ensure equity for all.
We work closely with the equality, diversity and inclusion team to achieve the trust’s EDI objectives and we’re here to support managers and staff to improve the working environment and access to information.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
