Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust serves a large and diverse population of 1.2 million people. We aim to treat our service users with the dignity and respect we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. We recognise the need for culturally sensitive approaches in our care so that we can meet the needs of all our patients. We are committed to a person-centred approach for all our patients so that each person receives the most appropriate and effective care for them.
Our community seminars work to empower our staff to better meet the needs of our patients, through a deeper understanding of the diverse communities, cultures and faiths within our local community. These seminars aim to tackle the stigma associated with mental health within hard to reach communities are open to Staff, third sector organisations and community members.
Our Community Mental Health Seminars are open to all, including staff, service users, public/community members and third sector organisations. Between 2015 and 2019 the following seminars have taken place for mental health awareness within the below community groups:
- Somali Community
- Yemeni Community
- Irish Community
- Asian Women
- Chinese Community
- Polish Community
- Gambian Community
- Bosnian Community
- Caribbean Community
- Jewish Community
- Migrant Community in Birmingham
- Menopausal Working Women Community
- Syrian Community
Further seminars will be running throughout the year. If you would like to recommend a seminar topic or if you would like further information, please contact Salma Yaqoob on salma.yaqoob@nhs.net.
In Conversation with…
Sharing Experiences and Collective Learning
Delivering Equality and Inclusion for our staff and our service users is at the heart of our values in BSMHFT and we are firmly committed to ensuring everyone is treated in a fair and equitable way.
The ‘In Conversation…’ sessions commenced in 2017 and were introduced to provide a safe and educational space for staff, service users alongside public members to collectively explore themes around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. With high-profile speakers with lived experience of the subject areas leading the discussions these have proven to be an invaluable method of breaking down barriers and moulding an inclusive environment not only for our staff and service users but also for the wider community. The events are open to all to attend for a collective learning experience. Previous “In Conversation…” themes have included:
- Race Equality with Imran Khan
- Trans Equality with Rikki Arundel
- Human Rights and Global LGBT Equality with Peter Tatchell
- Equality Diversity and Leadership with Stephen Frost
- Women’s Equality – With Jane Garvey
- Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES) with Yvonne Coghill
- Men’s Health Week: Alcoholism with Liam Byrne
- Disability Equality with Prof Tom Shakespeare
- Implementing Diversity & Inclusion strategies and programmes with Mark Lomas
For further information please contact bsmhft.communityengagement@nhs.net.
