Newsroom
Trust scoops award in assistive technology
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) has been selected as a winner in the NHS England Equality, Diversity and Improvement Awards, under the category of ‘Assistive Technology’. The Trust will use the extra funding from the award to support the implementation of a digital assistive technology toolkit. This is aimed at supporting disabled colleagues to use assistive technologies to overcome barriers in their working environment.
Helping colleagues overcome barriers to their working environment is an important priority for WSFT as 22%, or nearly one in four, of people working at the Trust, have a disability.
With this month being Disability History Month (16 November to 16 December), some of the Trust’s disabled colleagues have been looking at the past, present and future lives of people with disabilities. They highlight that disability lies not in the person, but in the world they live in. Making our community a more accessible place is good for everyone, and often small changes can make big differences, including in the workplace.
Ceiridwen Fowles is the co-chair of the WSFT Disability Staff Network, one of three groups that are a vital part of the Trust’s commitment to make it an inclusive place to work. She said: “The history of disability is a long one. What we want is understanding and more awareness of the struggles, visible and invisible, and for people to understand that there is no one ‘disability’.
“We need to take a personalised approach at every level. One of the most prominent mottos in disability rights across the globe is “Nothing About Us, Without Us” and I am so pleased that we are getting more involved in the conversations and sharing our experiences too. We want this to continue, and we want to encourage everyone to work with the lens of inclusivity.”
Executive director of resources Craig Black is the Board sponsor for the Disability Staff Network. He said: “Being recognised for the support we’re providing to our disabled members of staff is wonderful. The diversity of our staff is one of the great strengths of the Trust, and we hugely value colleagues who have disabilities for the positive contribution they make. There is a real advantage for our workforce, patients, and visitors in having their support to improve services.
“With the help of the networks we are looking at changes – large and small – to improve the working lives of all our staff. For example, we need to acknowledge that meetings are set up to support extroverts, which can mean neurodiverse staff feel excluded, so we lose their positive input. There is real value in trying to accommodate people’s needs. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments where possible to facilitate individual needs.
“To provide the best service we can to our community, we need to draw employees from as wide a range of people as possible and explore how we get the most out of that diversity, learning from colleagues’ lived experience. From a management perspective this will improve the service we provide and learn what we can to help staff do their job.”
Back to Newsroom