National NHS Muslim Network

Having been approached to write an article for the Invitation magazine, I was at a loss as to what to write about specifically. I sat and had a long think about it and decided I would like to share the amazing work my staff network does!

Staff networks play an important role within any organisation as they help to provide a safe space for members and employees to discuss topics that mean something to them. Not only this, staff networks help to develop the workforce, increase morale and among other things, have many wider benefits.

The Muslim Network

I am the Co-Chair of the National NHS Muslim Staff Network, along with my two wonderful Co-Chairs Sohail Shaikh and Riyaz Patel. As part of our role, it is essential to understand the needs of our Muslim colleagues, allies and friends of the network. It was crucial for us to start with the vision for the network and by working with our members we decided it should be “To make the NHS a fully open and inclusive organisation for our Muslim colleagues, without any fear of discrimination, bullying or violence”

This aligned with our objectives which included:

• Increasing awareness of Islam and our network
• Talent development
• Events for our membership including; members meetings and national campaigns such as Islamophobia awareness, Black History Month etc.

As a staff network, we really believe in giving people a voice and visibility, along with providing our members with the hope that they can be their true and authentic selves. The network also has similarities to other work such as HumanKind.

My Journey

Now that you have information on the network, I would like to move on to the wonderful and amazing journey I have been on over the last nine months as a Co-Chair of the network. Sometimes the hours have been long along with my day job but I have loved every minute of it and am still filled with passion for inclusion. I have met many people (Muslims and no), who have become very good friends along with increasing my knowledge on various topics. Remember knowledge is power!

One thing I am really proud of is our support package, which encompasses talent and leadership development webinars, well-being and Islamic support, along with events tied to national campaigns and Islamic celebrations! Along with this, we have been producing guidance documents for our Muslim colleagues, allies, and friends, this includes a very well-received Ramadan and Eid guidance.

If you are an NHS staff member and would like access to useful resources or more information on what we offer, please visit our website: https://nhsmuslimnetwork.co.uk/.