The Arc is Long

Claire Molloy (top) and
Rossella Nicosia (bottom)

Well, it’s been an eventful couple of weeks.

We’ve had the Government’s decision to scrap mandatory covid vaccinations for NHS staff. I know an immense amount of work has been undertaken by managers and our HR team leading up to this U-turn, and it’s been one of the most difficult times for everyone, creating anxiety and concern in colleagues. So I share the frustration people must be feeling.

It’s positive and such a relief that the NHS won’t lose any more staff when we have colossal staffing difficulties anyway, but we must keep promoting the huge benefits of the vaccine and encouraging staff to make that personal choice themselves. It’ll be a tragedy if that message is undermined.

My successor has also been confirmed as Anthony Hassall, who will pick up the reins in April when I retire. I wasn’t involved in the process and don’t know Anthony, but as you’ll know from her guest blog yesterday, Evelyn has worked with him for a couple of years. It’s clear from her experience of working with him that Anthony is a real champion on the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, which is so positive. As you know, this is a big focus for our organisation, so it’s good to have someone who can continue to steer this forward with absolute commitment.

And on that note, its LGBT+ History month and I’m delighted that Rossella Nicosia, our Step 3 manager at Bury Healthy Minds has written a guest blog.

The month focuses on the celebration and recognition of LGBT+ people and culture, both past and present, who were the agents of change rather than just victims of prejudice.

This year’s national theme is Politics in Art: 'The Arc is Long'. It’s inspired by a Martin Luther King quote: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’ So, although it is taking a long time, we are curving/moving towards social justice and fairness. 

Our LGBT+ staff network was the first of our networks to be established almost five years ago, and they have done some great work to support colleagues and help us in our ambitions to reduce prejudice and intolerance. I’m also proud that we published our transgender and non-binary statement last June to publicly demonstrate our support for our LGBT+ colleagues, and our zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, victimisation or harassment on the basis of a person’s gender identity.

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Rossella Nicosia – Step 3 manager, Bury Healthy Minds

Rosella Nicosia

LGBT+ History month is a great opportunity to learn about the journey that has led our community to where we are today. 

When I joined Pennine in April 2021, I was very reassured by the fact that there is an explicit commitment to equity of access for patients and to the inclusivity of all patients and colleagues, an ethos that is very close to my heart. Continuous learning supports that aim and helps us develop more in-depth cultural competence. 

In writing this guest blog I don’t mind sharing that I feel somewhat anxious about being visible, and anxiety is a familiar feeling when joining a platform to talk about a subject matter that is such a big part of my life and of my me.

So why the anxiety? Friends and family will tell you that I am forever talking about LGBTQIA+ culture, issues that impact our lives, and getting really excited about queer representation in mainstream media.

The main reason is that visibility has not always meant something positive for our communities, and for many it still doesn’t.

Growing up, I quickly learnt that visibility was often not a safe option for LGBTQIA+ people. We were often not depicted positively, and history lessons did not include any of our pioneering people, such as Marsha P Johnson or Alan Turing (definitely look them up if you’re not familiar with them) or any of our milestones.

Moving to the UK at the age of 14, I felt hopeful that I would finally learn more about our community, past and present. As a young LGBTQIA+ person I was really longing to see that my peers and community did exist. Years later I would learn that Section 28 was (and at times still is) responsible for a lot of the silences in our school years.

As you’ve probably noticed, history has always been one of my favorite subjects, back when I was in Sicily every subject had an element of history built in, even in maths we would get some historical insight to the learning.

So naturally, in a new space I gravitate towards its story, and when I started working in an LGBT charity, I soon became aware of all the things I didn’t know, and I became invested in our community’s history. I saw this as a key part of developing my cultural competence within the role I held. The opportunities to learn were all there, and so varied.

A favorite of mine was ‘Out North West’, a magazine that the charity printed regularly. One of the walls in the building had every single cover framed and hung up. Each cover reflecting the social issues that our community was navigating at the time. From sexual health articles amid the AIDS pandemic of the 80s and early 90s, to naming issues like rainbow racism, the lack of inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ disabled people, the first Manchester Pride in 1990, barriers to healthcare, the gender recognition act in 2004 and of course dozens of stories celebrating our community and culture. It was a window to our lives. 

Whilst the magazine is no longer being printed, the need to keep on learning about our history, and our community to better understand our context is very much present.

LGBT+ history month can be a good opportunity to gain some insight as to why some people may choose not to be visible (being out and/or visible is and will always be the person’s choice), and to understand the context in which many of our friends, family members, patients and colleagues have lived and often continue to live in.

Our commitment to inclusivity is a commitment to a journey of education, in which we continually become aware of the barriers and discrimination that impact the diverse facets of society. Learning about the history of different communities is part of that journey of development. 

So, whilst we may see people march loud and proud across the globe during parades, that queer joy comes with a history that is important to shine light on. As allies to the LGBTQIA+ community, but also as part of the community, we can show solidarity by actively learning about the journey that led people to where they are now. This insight will help us to understand how we can write history today, using our privilege to enable meaningful social change.

I am proud to see that our Trust is committed to creating opportunities for learning and development for equity of access for all communities. In addition to the resources available on the intranet, the LGBT+ staff network will be hosting two learning events over the next couple of weeks which will give people the opportunity for meaningful learning, discussions, and reflections. It would be great to see colleagues from across our organisation attend these events in support of this important month.

Here's to writing history together.