Sun Sander-Jackson begins new role to champion equality across the south west

There is no doubt that Sun Sander-Jackson has been a friendly and well-known face across the trust in her role as inclusion lead, and now she’s taken on her next challenge – applying her passion and expertise to a new, additional role as the Chief Nursing Officer & Chief Midwifery Officer's Black Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group (CNO CMINO BAME SAG) regional lead for the south west!

Sun will be working as part of the senior leadership committee, representing the vision and purpose of the group, and ensuring that the voices of ethnic minority groups across the south west are amplified, heard, and acted on.

It’s incredibly important that colleagues, patients, and local communities are represented equally in our NHS – not just for the here and now, but also for future generations.

Sun will be delivering both roles at the same time, driving the equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda across not only our trust, but the whole region too. She said:

“My new role as the CNO CMINO BAME SAG lead for the south west really complements my role as inclusion lead at the trust. It is essential for me to establish a clear line of collaboration between the two roles to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are aligned and effectively implemented across the organisation, as well as in the south west.

“I am excited to bring my learning and expertise from both roles to support our global majority colleagues, and to continue to make a difference to colleagues within our local NHS.”

On Tuesday last week (22 August), Sun was joined by Felicia Kwaku OBE, chair of the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Midwifery Officer for England Black Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group, and Wendy Olayiwola, lead midwife for the group, during a visit to Musgrove Park Hospital.

The team had a busy day, carrying out important conversations about how we can better support our international colleagues across the trust. This included a trip to maternity, where Wendy got the chance to speak with ethnic minority midwives about how they have found their experience of moving to the UK, and what additional support they might need.

“We know that if staff are happy and well cared for, then they give that same care to their patients, their carers, and their families,” said Felicia. “It is really good to see that the trust is committed to their inclusion priorities and their work.

“It is important also that we have representation from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, and we are here to support Sun, the regional teams, and the integrated care systems, to be able to deliver that kind of work”.

Wendy added: “It is such an honour and delight to be here, and to have the conversation on how to support the trust in terms of moving their EDI agenda forward. We have really been welcomed warmly by the chief nurse Hayley Peters, the HR team, and the leadership team.”

Felicia, Wendy, and Sun spoke more about their roles and about their day at Musgrove, which can be seen in the below videos.