Indian | Scottish - NHS Speciality Doctor in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Senior Leadership Fellow East Anglia NHSE, Clinical Teacher in Oral Surgery, Kings College
My Mom is Indian, her parents were from Punjab (North India). She was born in Scotland but spent her childhood growing up in Kenya, Africa before coming back to Scotland as a teenager. My Dad is Caucasian, fully Scottish and was born and brought up in Scotland. They met through fate at college where their relationship was ‘not allowed’ due to the expectations of Indian culture. I used to think that my parents had a complete ‘Bollywood’ love story, but as I got older and learned the full extent of my parent’s challenges, hardships and the length they went to for love I realised their story was so much more than a relatable movie. My parents both fought against the world to be together due to race, culture and religion and this story was something I wasn’t told till my late teenage years. They showed strength, courage, commitment and are an example of the real-life definition of love with my sister and I being the product of their love story.
As a clinician, educator and mixed-race female who holds both surgical and leadership roles within the NHS, I have viewed the diversity of the NHS workforce and the value which this has within health and social care with relation to the delivery of patient care, staff morale and effectiveness of workforce development. However, I have also been conscious that the need to improve and support representation across all levels of the NHS is required to eradicate the inequalities that exist.
Change begins with recognition and that is always the first step, however the problem is that the need for this change has previously been recognised, but the rate at which this change is being actioned is not happening fast enough. The eradication of inequalities should not just be looked at as a ‘tick box’ exercise to please those that are calling out this unjust or to allow organisations to merely meet their work force diversity criteria, but that workforce diversity should be seen as the beating heart of every organisation, specifically that of the NHS.
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