Meet our new co-chairs
- Name: Halima Dagia
- Organisation: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Job title: BAME Strategy Project Lead
- Years of experience: 13 Years within the NHS
- Professional qualifications: I have various different qualifications including My BA Honours in Sociology, Prince 2 qualification, QSIR and Currently in my last year of Masters in Human Resource Management.
Why the NHS MN is important to us: The network is a vital part of the NHS as it allows Muslim staff to have support that is tailored to their needs. The staff that are a part of our network come from all over the UK and from different staff groups, which will allow for networking and discussions.
Our personal commitment to the NHS MN: I am excited to be given the chance to be a co-chair for the network. The network and its members will have full commitment from me to further the network, provide a safe space for discussions, integrate with individual trusts and work with other networks along with raising awareness and celebrating who we are as Muslims. I am also committed to providing a forum within our network for Allies to provide an environment that creates an understanding of Islam and the lived experiences of Muslims.
- Name – Riyaz Patel
- Organisation – NHSE/I
- Job title – WRES Implementation Lead (Analytics)
- Years of experience – 18 years’ experience of working in the NHS.
- Professional qualifications – BSc (Hons), CIPS & Hafiz
Why the NHS MN is important to us: I have been involved with the Muslim Network for NHSE/I since its inception a few years back. It is very important as it provides a collective voice for all the Muslim staff working within the NHS. It helps to raise the profile of Muslims working within the NHS and the issues they face.
Our personal commitment to the NHS MN: The previous co-chairs have done an excellent job of raising the profile of the Muslim network. Insha’Allah we will build on this and raise the profile within trusts and in the regions.
Muslim staff face a lot of barriers in terms of career progression and are stuck on the same pay band for years. We have done some work on this and will raise this within the senior team and work with our members to provide support around CV writing and interview preparation.
Initial planning has also started on improving the prayer room facilities with separate rooms and ablution facilities for brothers and sisters.
- Name: Mr. Shohail Shaikh (Chartered MCIPD)
- Organisation: NHS London Shared Service / South East London (SEL) Integrated Care Board (ICB)
- Job title: Talent Management and Organisational Development (OD) Consultant / “Let it out” Service Lead / Co-Chair of NHS Muslim Network
- Years of experience: Over 15 years’ experience within the healthcare sector (including various NHS organisations and international experience)
Professional qualifications:
- Chartered Member of the CIPD
- Master’s Degree in Human Resource (HR) Management
- Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management
- Accredited Coach – Practitioner and Foundation Level
- Accredited Emotional Intelligence Practitioner
- Accredited Belbin Team Roles Practitioner
- Accredited Affina Team Journey Coach
- Accredited in the Affina Team Performance Inventory (ATPI)
- Certified Mentor
- Certified in Reverse Mentoring
- Certified in Building Inclusion in the NHS
- Certified in Psychological First Aid
- Certified in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness
- Trained Diversity Partner
- Trained in Appreciative Inquiry
- Trained in Psychological Safety in Teams
- Locally trained in MBTI
- Locally trained in facilitating Action Learning Sets
Why the NHS Muslim Network (NHSMN) is important?: The NHS is made up of a range of diverse talent. Ensuring a fair and equitable NHS is key in ultimately improving the lived experience of our NHS people, retaining our talent, and improving patient care.
The NHSMN is important because it provides a space and a voice to our Muslim colleagues and allies. We acknowledge the discrimination, racism and Islamophobia which impacts some of our Muslim colleagues within the NHS. The NHSMN contributes to addressing and solving problems for the under-represented and disadvantaged Muslim colleagues, and assists in the shaping/ delivery of strategy and policy, to improve the staff experience of our Muslim colleagues.
Personal commitment to the NHSMN: My personal commitment is to raise awareness of the Network, provide a platform where Muslim colleagues and allies have a trusted, safe and supportive space, develop our members, and ensure their voice is heard.
One of the pillars of the NHS people promise is that ‘we are compassionate and inclusive’, which means we do not tolerate any form of discrimination, bullying or violence and that the NHS is open and inclusive – a place where we all feel we belong. I commit to being an ambassador for this.
I also commit to working with other Staff Networks to ensure there is a collaborative approach taken to minimise and remove any discrimination in the NHS. This will be a journey, and I am ready for the opportunities and challenges this journey will inevitably bring.
As a passionate HR/OD professional, specialising in Talent Management, I will bring my expertise to develop the talents of our members. Being in a Talent Leader position for over a decade, I fully believe in the power of compassionate, inclusive and collective leadership, as there is no greater satisfaction than helping talent unlock their full potential and empower them to be the best they can be.
Monthly reflections
We have decided to add a new segment to our newsletter where we share our insights of the month and anything new we learnt or reflected on. This month’s one has been written by our new team member, Arli. If you would like to share a point of reflection, please feel free to email us at england.muslim1@nhs.net
Saying Bismillah
A couple of months ago, I had a task that felt like two mountains of Uhud on my shoulders. Always worrying about it and never getting round to doing it. One evening, despite having my laptop opened and with the intent on starting this mammoth task, I still found myself scrolling on ASOS. I took pause and simply said bismillah. This simple yet effective statement propelled me to finish the task that evening, and I was able to review and send off the next day. A task weighing so heavy on my mind made so light on my limbs simply because I chose to start the task in the name of God. This month as you go through the many pebble sized tasks to the intimidating large ones; pause, reflect, and start them all in the name of God. And may Allah always make it easy.
Our Virtual Hajj Event
30th June 2022 10am-11:30am
The NHS Muslim Network invites you to celebrate Hajj and Eid together this year, where we will be hearing our key speakers on the importance of Hajj, the story of Eid and how to make the most of the blessed ten days.
- Introduction
- Importance of Hajj
- Story behind Eid
- 10 days of Duhul Hijjah
- Q&A session
- Conclusion
If there are any specific questions you would like addressed, then please do email us the questions at england.muslim1@nhs.net.
Trainee Clinical Psychologist, University of Oxford
The aim of this study is to understand how British Muslims perceive psychological therapy. University of Oxford hope this study will improve access to psychological support for this group.
To participate you will need to meet the following criteria:
- You identify as British Muslim
- You are over the age of 18 years
- You have not had current or past treatment from mental health services
Please click on the link for more information and to participate:
Facilitation Development Programme by Primary Care – Quality Improvement
This exciting opportunity is for all those working in and around Primary Care in England, who want to build on their existing knowledge and experience of quality improvement. The programme will support those attending to enhance their ability to be effective facilitators and leaders of change in their own workplace and local systems.
The programme combines quality improvement tools and techniques, practical approaches to the human dimensions of change, as well as presentation and facilitation skills. It will enhance personal presence and the ability to create and share a narrative, developing your passion and capability in quality improvement, enabling you to take new skills back to your areas of work, colleagues and partners. Want to find out more? Visit this link for further information on the programme, what it can help you achieve and enable you to do, as well as full details on how to apply.
| Tue 11 Oct 2022 | 10:00 – 17:00 | Birmingham or London |
| 12 October 2022 | 09:00 – 16:00 | Birmingham or London |
| Wed 19 October 2022 | 90 min group action learning | Virtual |
| Wed 02 Nov 2022 | 09:00 – 13:00 | Virtual |
| Wed 09 Nov 2022 | 09:00 – 13:00 | Virtual |
| Wed 16 Nov 2022 | 90 min group action learning | Virtual |
| Wed 23 Nov 2022 | 09:00 – 13:00 | Virtual |
| Wed 30 Nov 2022 | 09:00 – 13:00 | Virtual |
| Wed 07 Dec 2022 | 90 min group action learning | Virtual |
| Wed 14 Dec 2022 | 09:00 – 13:00 | Virtual |
Understanding Muslim Mental Health
Research shows that Muslims in Britain are under-referred to mainstream services for mental health problems. When they are accessed, their rates of improvement are lower. On this four-week course you’ll explore Muslim experiences of mental health and how to provide support for Muslim communities. By contextualising Muslim experiences of mental health, you’ll learn skills and techniques to provide effective mental health support to minority communities.
Virtual Network of Networks Conference
Thank you to everyone who attended our Network of Networks conference. Please follow these links for the full recording of the session and the recording of the Our Staff Networks testimonials. If you have the time and you have not already please can you fill in this short evaluation form for the event so we can shape future sessions based on your feedback.
Multi-Faith Summit
14th July 2022, Leeds
Founded in 2019 the third summit will bring together people from across the public sector together to connect, explore and act on issues relating to pastoral, spiritual and religious belief, political questions and shared societal concerns. This year’s summit will be joined by a wide variety of speakers and will address the following key areas:
- Faith in democracy – the diversity of religions The hollowness of religious illiteracy
- Voicing diverse spiritual and religious needs
- Relationships, presence and hope and university chaplaincy during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Managing the complexities of identity religion, spirituality, culture and health Self, suffering and spirituality: our common humanity
- Supporting religious identity in the NHS to improve staff and patient wellbeing The placing of religion in policing and policing
- First responder chaplaincy for the 21st century
The summits attract a diverse audience and cost: £149 + VAT.
Health and wellbeing support
The following pack outline all the national support offers available to our NHS people. These offers are intended to compliment any local support programmes in place, including occupational health and wellbeing services and Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) Please do feel free to share this pack with your teams and colleagues, especially those seeking support.
Shuri Network Digital Fellowship for Ethnic Minority Nurses and Midwives
Thursday 30th June 2022
Are you a Nurse or Midwife working in the NHS and interested in Digital Health? If so, the award-winning Shuri Network and NHS England and Improvement are working collaboratively to support ethnic minority nurses and midwives interested in health technology. This will be enabled through 1:1 coaching sessions and virtual shadowing opportunities with digital and healthcare leaders. The Fellowship will enable you to overcome career related challenges, build positive relationships, gain insight into different digital roles and support with career progression.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Qualified Nurse or Midwife currently working in the NHS
- Band 8a and below
- Registered member of the Shuri Network
- Identify as ethnic minority
- Identify as a woman
- Interested in expanding their digital knowledge to support with career progression
- Currently working within digital health or regular use of technology within your role
To apply for the Fellowship please complete the online form at The Shuri Network by Thursday 30th June 2022. *Please note the deadline for the application to be submitted is the 30th June 2022 due to high demand the application will close once it reaches full capacity
Staff Networks Leads Webinar
30 June 2022 10:30am – 12:15pm
This session is intended for Staff Network Chairs & Leads and it is aimed at Enhancing People outcomes in the NHS.
The aim of this session is to consult Staff Network Chairs on development of the first NHS Workforce Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, aimed at addressing current challenges to promote an inclusive culture in the NHS, ultimately improving patient and staff outcomes. During the session we will be discussing findings and recommendations from the Workforce Race and Workforce Disability Equality Standards 2021 reports, designed to inform trust action planning on improving the experiences of our NHS People (Staff and Patients alike) with the intention to move and use the data from the latest reports into tangible actions and improvements.
Supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme
Please see link below for the template letter to help the vaccination teams and critical stakeholders to thank Imams for supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme and ask for help to encourage eligible people to take up the offer of Spring Boosters.
We would be very grateful if you could circulate these around your stakeholder groups and most importantly the masjids within the communities or to members of the masjids so they can reach the imams.
There are some yellow fields/words to be edited depending on where we are sending these letters so please address in Microsoft Word and save as a PDF. If you have any questions/feedback, please email sofian.khan@nhs.net. (COVID-19 Vaccination Equalities Programme)
NHS Networks, Multifaith Webinar
13th July 12.00 – 1.00pm
We’re hosting our second Multifaith webinar on Wednesday 13 July from 12–1pm, with the theme of peace. Reverend Mary Gregory from Coventry Cathedral, will talk about why interfaith cooperation is so important and how it contributes to peace. You’ll also hear from our Jewish, Christian and Muslim staff networks. Join us by registering here.
Job Vacancy
Don’t forget, we have a dedicate Job Vacancies page which we update regularly where you’ll find the latest job vacancies both internally and externally shared by our various members throughout the network.