Bradford Hospitals Ramadan Allies project collects another national award

A project funded by Bradford Hospitals Charity, bringing an inclusive Ramadan experience for colleagues working at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was recognised at the national APNA NHS Awards.

Ramadan Allies picked up the Impactful Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion - Team Award at the event held in Liverpool. The Asian Professionals National Alliance (APNA) NHS Awards recognise the work of individuals and organisations that demonstrate their commitment to leadership; positive action; and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Ramadan Allies has been developed by the Trust’s Spiritual Pastoral and Religious Care (SPaRC) Team to promote an inclusive ethos inclusive ethos, to create a culture where staff could bring themselves to work fully and unconditionally, improving their wellbeing and observe Ramadan as fully as possible while at work.

The Bradford Hospitals Charity ‘Fast Packs’ are distributed across the Trust - containing dates, water, prayer timetable and a cool bag. This allows people to balance the need of their roles and their observance of Ramadan.

In addition, ‘PROP packs’ are distributed to allies, enables managers to set up a prayer area within their own workplace without the need for staff to leave their ward or department to go to the prayer room which could be 10/15 minutes away, therefore reducing unnecessary strains on the service or compromising patient care.

Professor Mel Pickup, Chief Executive for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is wonderful recognition for a project that was voluntarily established by our SPaRC team and has gone from strength to strength. Thanks to their work we now have close to 200 Ramadan Allies in our organisation, people helping our Muslim colleagues to take part in Ramadan while also continuing to deliver services for our patients and our communities. Thanks to the support of Bradford Hospitals Charity, last year we were able to distribute 1,000 fast packs across the organisation demonstrating how both our Trust and our Charity are committed to inclusive wellbeing initiatives.”

This is the latest national award for the Ramadan Allies project and the SPaRC team has had interest from over 15 other NHS trusts looking to establish a similar scheme.

APNA NHS is a voluntary organisation constituting health and social care professionals of South Asian heritage working in the NHS and Local Authorities. To find out more about APNA NHS please visit www.apna-nhs.org