Our HR Assistant Director, Azizen Khan collected an unexpected award at an event celebrating the contribution of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues in the NHS.

The event which was held in Leeds was hosted by the Royal College of Nursing to celebrate Black History Month and  - despite being nominated for recognition (on the QT by our CEO Owen Williams) - it very nearly didn’t happen.

Azizen said: “I had initially sent my apologies as I was due at the Annual Planning event and I then received a second email the day before the conference which was copied into Suzanne Dunkley, Director of Workforce and OD at which point I was given a gentle nudge, so I made arrangements to attend.

"Now I realise why - it  was such a surprise though, and I am really honoured and privileged to receive the award.  Setting up the BAME Network here at CHFT and working on various initiatives with colleagues from the network who are really passionate and enthusiastic about making things better for BAME staff and patients has been a real pleasure.  Every week we have new colleagues joining the Network and watching it go from strength to strength is brilliant.  If anyone wants to know more about the work of the BAME Network there is information on the intranet, and the next meeting is on 11 December.

Owen's nomination, said Azizen was  "a real inspirational character". He said:" A question I’ve recently introduced during recruitment interviews is the one which asks: - “Give an example of where you’ve led from the back?” Azizen is a role model for leading from the back and without fuss or drama she has helped countless people to realise their ambitions. She is generally calm but when she needs to be she is at passionate advocate for patients and the rights of the colleagues who provide care."