My name is Gideon Agbemafle, a global majority practice development nurse at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
I am a dedicated and hardworking registered nurse with 8 years’ experience in nursing. I began my career as a nurse in 2017, working in Ghana for 4 years.
I then moved to the UK in 2021 working as a staff nurse, Clinical Educator, before I began my current role as a global majority practice development nurse due to my passion for equity, diversity and inclusion.
Our NHS is built on the values of ‘everyone counts’, dignity and respect, compassion, improving lives, working together for patients, and a commitment to quality. My trust’s Workforce Race Equality Standard reports highlight major areas for focus.
In my current role, I have first-hand knowledge of the challenges that our global majority staff face. I am an advocate for all the staff that I support. As a result, I escalated these concerns to senior leaders and helped organise a listening event and focus groups with the Chief Nurse. This helped the nurses voice their concerns and suggest actions to address key issues.
My Trust, as part of its commitment to the equality and diversity agenda, took part in the 90-Day Challenge. Through this initiative, I was appointed as a global majority practice development nurse. In this role, I aspire to draw on my lived experience further to champion the cause for all global majority staff. This involves being an advocate, supporting with career development and progression opportunities, and challenging discrimination, bullying or racism.
I organised listening events and forums, along with surveys that provided essential insights to senior leaders. By highlighting statistics and real-world examples, I highlighted the urgency and benefits of our initiative, ensuring it resonated with diverse perspectives. My appointment assured staff that their voices would be heard. Seeing someone from the global majority with lived experience dedicated to advocating for the voiceless made it easier for staff to speak openly about their concerns. They felt psychologically safe to do so, knowing they would be supported.
I have pioneered a global majority leaders forum, which I lead. This constitutes global majority leaders of all nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to work towards a common goal. My vision is to use the monthly leader’s forum to create initiatives to improve the overall experience of global majority and to support junior staff. This will foster unity and make our collective voice profound.
My passion for empowering others and inclusion has led to initiatives that draw on the competence and experience of others, offering them a platform to use their innovative ideas as a catalyst for change in their own areas, helping them develop their leadership.
Initiatives to improve equitable access to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) funding ensure that global majority staff have equal opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge, ultimately benefiting patient care. Staff report better access to funding and training opportunities.
Through delivering application preparation and interview skills clinics, I identified areas of focus, allowing me to improve the chances of staff seeking career progression opportunities through tailored support.
Recognising the systemic inequalities faced by many of our staff, I took the lead in developing measures to tackle the challenge and influence organisational change. My first-hand knowledge of the challenges encountered in the acute clinical settings allowed me to identify critical gaps in staff experience and advocate for equitable practices.
As a nurse, I helped shape the initiative’s framework to meet the needs of staff and patients, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone’s voice was valued. This enabled me to challenge from a professional standpoint when global majority colleagues were unfairly being put through disciplinary processes or performance managed due to clinical issues that they may not be responsible for. This approach not only empowered staff but also ensured that the initiative addressed the real concerns they faced.
The initiatives I’ve undertaken to support global majority staff within the Trust are essential for enhancing patient care and service effectiveness(see poster for some incredible work done by global majority and it’s impact). By addressing the challenges faced by our nurses, I promote equity and inclusion, ensuring our workforce is engaged, supported, and adequately trained, leading to higher job satisfaction and retention rates.
The impact of my work has led to a successful appointment as CNO CMidO BME SAG Fellow for the Northwest, allowing me to transmit these ideas to a regional level, influencing decisions at a high level. I have recently been awarded Nurse of the Year at the CAHN Black Healthcare Awards for all the work I have led. A humbling and proud moment.