Colleagues in the national People Team in partnership with NHS Practitioner Health have been busy developing virtual Staff Common Rooms for NHS colleagues from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities across the NHS. This is an opportunity for our NHS people to come together virtually and to invest some time in supporting each other during these challenging times. Open to absolutely anyone although specifically catering to the needs of our NHS staff from BAME communities working within the NHS across England, regardless of job role, organisational context or hierarchy and includes all final year students who are working directly on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and/or those who are keeping our services running throughout.
The Common Rooms are a safe and supportive environment hosted by an experienced and approved practitioner with at least one host coming from a BAME background.
They are one-off meetings for one hour with a maximum of 10 NHS staff – although you are of course able to access them as often as you may feel to be helpful to yourself. Discussion in the room is guided by the participants and focusses on present and future coping and support.
They are an opportunity to share experiences and learning, with hosts also guiding people to additional support and resources.