Healthcare staff in Hull have been shortlisted for two national awards based on their support for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff.
NHS Humber Health Partnership, which runs hospitals in Hull, Cottingham, Scunthorpe, Goole and Grimsby, has two staff members competing in the finals of the National BAME Health and Care Awards 2024.
Launched in 2019, the awards celebrate those professionals who strive to create opportunities for BAME staff and communities, and who show a real determination to demonstrate the contribution and value they bring to the healthcare setting.
This year, Hull-based practice development matron, Karen Mechen, has been shortlisted for ‘Ally of the Year’, while clinical nurse educator, Grace Kapangyarihan, is competing to be named ‘Educator of the Year’ when the awards ceremony takes place in London next month.
Chief People Officer for NHS Humber Health Partnership, Simon Nearney, says:
“One of the absolute strengths of our workforce is our diversity. Our internationally recruited staff make us much better and stronger as a Group of hospitals, so to have two people shortlisted for their work to embrace and support colleagues from different cultures, communities and backgrounds is nothing short of fantastic.
“The NHS in particular has always been reliant on an immigrant workforce. Locally, we employ people of 95 different nationalities and one in every five members of staff working across our hospitals comes from a BAME background, so there’s a clear need to support our colleagues from both a personal and professional perspective.
“The fact that we are up there competing with the best in the country for the pastoral and professional support we give to our BAME staff and internationally educated colleagues sends out a really strong, positive message and makes me incredibly proud.”
Karen Mechen
Karen Mechen is one of six people from across the country nominated as ‘Ally of the Year’. This award recognises someone who has gone out of their way to support and advocate for marginalised groups – while not being a member of this group themselves – and to help deliver equality within the healthcare setting. Karen has been the driving force behind ‘Once a Nurse, Always a Nurse’, a programme aimed at fast-tracking internationally educated nurses working in the UK as healthcare assistants in order to make best use of their skills and experience as qualified nursing staff. Within the space of a few years, the programme has turned around a significant staffing shortfall among qualified nurses in Hull and delivered a 97% retention rate among the hospitals’ internationally educated nurses.
Grace Kapangyarihan
Grace Kapangyarihan will be competing to claim the title of ‘Educator of the Year’. This award recognises someone whose role involves teaching, mentoring, coaching and developing BAME staff, as well as supporting their ongoing learning and career development. Using her own lived experiences as a starting point, Grace has introduced various tools to support the training and development of international nurses and enhance patient safety, such as a competency booklet and IV passport. She also personally delivers medicines management training to offer a safe platform for colleagues to understand UK practices. This and other highly visible work to upskill and promote the professional competencies of internationally educated nurses has helped colleagues see the true value they bring to our hospitals and helped to ensure fair and equal opportunities are available.
Winners will be revealed at the National BAME Health and Care Awards ceremony which takes place in London on the evening of Thursday 26 September.