Meet Grace Coleman, new chair of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network.
Last month Grace Coleman took up the role of chair of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network, picking up the reins from Ismaa Ramzan who was chair for just over a year.
Grace trained as an adult nurse at The University of Derby and qualified during the height of the pandemic. Since then she has worked as both a community nurse and an acute surgical nurse. Grace currently works as a rapid response community nurse in Derby.
“I am British Caribbean, both parents of Jamaican descent, and I am a Christian woman born in Derby,” said Grace.
“I have chosen to take the role as chair of the network as I have a strong passion to see equality, education and compassionate collaboration be a driving force for change in the NHS.
“I believe that I will be a confident and people-centred voice that will help make a change in promoting a work environment that allows all to feel included and welcome.”
Grace said one of her wishes for DCHS was to help create a more diverse workforce that was relatable for patients and colleagues.
“I hope to join forces with those already in place in the network making a huge difference, to reinforce the addition and retention of staff from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” she said.
“There are more than 70 different languages spoken in Derby and Derbyshire and my aim is to invite those languages to participate in cultivating our uniformed care in line with the 'NHS People Promise'.
“As a mother to a seven-year-old son who has duel black British decent of Nigerian and Jamaican, he has highlighted to me the fact that, despite a massive effort to educate and collaborate, inequality and unfair treatment is still present even within his age group. I would love for my son and future leaders of his kind to know and see that they have a voice and can reach for the stars too.”
Our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network seeks to make race equality part of DCHS custom and practice and is for all colleagues with an interest in achieving race equality. Find out more here.