Pippa tells us about her role as the chair of the Disability Network.
Why did you want to be chair of the Disability Network?
I am a registered pharmacy technician and have worked in the NHS for 29 years. At the age of 38 I was diagnosed as autistic, which helped me understand and accept myself in a way that I never had before. Being the network chair, I use my experience, passion and desire for change to help improve working lives for other staff and build a better and more understanding environment which will also benefit future generations of staff at MTW.
Why is the Disability Network so important for staff?
Feeling alone and without people who truly understand you is very common for people with long term conditions and disabilities. Staff networks are able to pool resources and experience, achieving a sense of belonging and acceptance. We can use our experiences and knowledge to empower us as an organisation and create policies, procedures, training and support documents to ensure standard practice and support throughout the trust.
What are your main priorities?
Now that I have the support of a higher number of colleagues than ever, we can achieve so much more. We also have a wonderful EDI team who we work alongside.
We want to maintain the progress and momentum which we have gained over the last two years, expanding our network and subgroups, such as the neurodiversity support group, carers network, chronic pain network and menopause network. We aim to launch further networks and promote the existing networks so that they are known about by as many staff groups as possible to ensure access to them and ensure that people see ‘ability’ over disability, always!
Ultimately, we want to create a wonderfully diverse trust and change people’s working lives for the better.
Visit: www.mtw.nhs.uk