It's a first for CHFT - a danceathon!

Our CEO Owen Williams is offering  two £50 charity donations to participants in a Candy Dance Challenge next month. Here he is on video explaining why he wants us to celebrate our diversity and come together in this way.

He wants as many colleagues as possible to get involved on 10th September between 1-2 pm at HRI - venue to be confirmed depending on the weather.   Some colleagues have already given it a whirl at Acre Mills so colleagues can see what it's about, and it was a right hoot. You'll see their moves on the same video as Owen.

So,  if you’re up for it, make a note in your diary and come along and join us! The £50 charity donations will go to the best dancer and, to quote Owen, the one "needing most development"!

Where and when?

• Tuesday 10th September 2019 between 1pm and 2pm
• We’ll decide nearer the time on the actual location as we’re keeping an eye on the good old British weather, though we can confirm it will definitely be at HRI (next time at CRH!) 

What is the Candy Dance challenge?

The Candy Dance Challenge was discussed at the last BAME meeting - just one of our group of our networks here at CHFT.

If you've not heard of it, a Candy Dance like a line dance with extra funk.  Colleagues at Lewisham Trust in London started the trend.

**** We're very proud of our CHFT networks for colleagues. As well as our BAME  group we also have an LGBTQ network, and 250 colleagues have signed up to the LGBTQ pledge. See how to sign-up here.

We also held our second Colleague Disability Action Group recently. The purpose of this group is to understand how disabled colleagues feel about working at CHFT and how we can support them with change and learn from their experiences.

At the moment 10 colleagues are in the group. Some have a disability, but some are key allies who have the ability to make changes in the workplace. More on them next time.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Nikky Hosty, said: "It is our aim to support colleagues with a disability, by actively reaching out and hearing their 'lived experiences'.

"We'll focus on three key areas: What kind of things do we need to focus on as an organisation, the immediate work environment and personal support.

"Initial discussions have focussed on policy review to take into consideration the needs of a diverse range of disabilities, recruitment and selection of disabled candidates, fire drills, accessibility and line manager support. We are also exploring how we can connect with local community organisations to support us to make a difference".

This group will also discuss the Workplace Disability Equality Standard and start to develop an Action Plan for the Trust.

If you are interested in joining the group, or you just want to share your experience as a disabled colleague, or as an ally, Nikki would love to hear from you Nicola.hosty@cht.nhs.uk.