Nothing changes without challenge
Paul Deemer, head of diversity and inclusion, reflects on 20 years with NHS Employers, he shares some of the changes he has witnessed and initiatives he has worked on to improve inclusion within health and care.
In April 2006, as a fresh faced 43-year-old, I entered the world of NHS Employers. We were a new organisation. A spin off from the Department of Health, tagged as the employers’ organisation for the NHS and tasked with being the voice of the HR community on behalf of the NHS.
Fast forward 20 years. A fresh faced 63-year-old, I am looking forward to moving into the next stage of my life. I leave behind me an organisation that has very much become part of the infrastructure and DNA of the NHS and the wider health and social care sector – which is no small feat! I have seen numerous organisations (and iterations of organisations) come and go in that time, a dozen different Health Secretaries and at least two ‘once in a lifetime’ reorganisations of the NHS.
Taking action to tackle inequality
I have witnessed the implementation of the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES), the latter of which my team and I worked closely with NHS England to embed since its introduction in 2019. Since then, we have published over 30 disability related resources, held seven Disability Summits, delivered five Disability History Month campaigns and held numerous webinars to raise awareness and drive improvement.
I’m proud to have played a part in our national campaign Equality Diversity and Human Rights Week (#EQW) since its launch 13 years ago, I have seen this go from strength to strength. This year it takes place from 19-23 May, providing a platform for health and care organisations to celebrate and spotlight EDI initiatives that are driving improvement and run local awareness campaigns to improve staff experience.
I’ve also been lucky enough to help guide over 375 organisations through our Diversity in Health and Care Partners Programme over the last decade, encouraging collaborative working, sharing innovation and best practice, and advancing equality, diversity and inclusion within health and care. Keep an eye open for the launch of our 2025/26 application process during #EQW2025.
A lot of change to witness over 20 years, but much stays the same
While the demographics of both the country and the NHS workforce have changed over this period, the poorer experiences of particular groups and communities remain. Whether that manifests itself in terms of poorer NHS Staff Survey, WDES, WRES or health inequalities figures, the gaps and differences remain. The wheels of change grind slowly and the oil tanker that we often refer to as the NHS struggles to change course swiftly.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is an ever-evolving landscape in employment law. Our upcoming webinar navigating legal changes in equality, diversity and inclusion will highlight some of the recent and upcoming changes to equalities legislation, recent case law decisions and how they may impact EDI policy within NHS organisations.
The one constant over my time here, is the dedication and love for the NHS – wonderfully manifested most memorably during the Covid lockdown - which continues to shine through. The passion and belief in a free at the point of entry, world class health service still underpins much of what we do.
Core values
So, what does the future hold? For me, I am going to rediscover myself. I plan to remind myself of all of the things which I loved to do in the past – but have had less time to do because of the demands of working life, raising a family and caring for relatives. Music, travelling, art, theatre, poetry and literature. These are the things that made me who I am and kept me motivated and sustained while working, raising my family and caring for others. They are the core of what I am and what I aspired to be. In many ways, I think the NHS going forwards needs to remind itself of some of its’ core strengths and values outlined in the NHS Constitution, if it is to survive and thrive in the future.
Remember the patients
If I can leave you with just one thought at the end of my 20 years, it is to remember that patients are not just a number. Remember that patients do not choose to be patients and that them coming to us for help should be seen as a privilege and not a burden.
Remember that in the way they have embraced mobile phones, the internet and artificial intelligence, patients are quite happy to use technology and virtual spaces to aid their health care, if it is good and works well. Remember that patients are just human beings – just like us and just like our families and loved ones. But ultimately, remember that nothing changes without challenge and at the end of the day, we’ve all got skin in the game.
