Mary Seacole Trust hopes to inspire BME nurses
A charity honouring the legacy of Mary Seacole has been set up to inspire the next generation of nurses from black or minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.
The Mary Seacole Trust is a successor to the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal, which raised funds for the statue of the Crimean War nurse. The monument was unveiled in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital in London a year ago.
The Seacole legacy
Corporate head of nursing at Guy’s and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Karen Bonner is a trustee of the new charity. She said: ‘It is so important to continue Mary’s legacy, highlight her values, her compassion, her achievements. The key point is achieving diversity in leadership, not just in nursing but across all professions.’
The trust has appointed ambassadors to spread the word about Mary Seacole and the trust in their communities. They will participate in discussions with senior NHS figures to develop diversity in leadership programmes.
Immigration concerns
One ambassador is Joan Pons Laplana, a Norfolk-based nurse and campaigner for nurses fearing they will be affected by post-Brexit changes to immigration rules.
He said: ‘Getting the statue was very much the beginning, not the end. The next journey is to inspire and help BME people to achieve their potential.'
Mary Seacole Trust vice-chair Lisa Rodrigues recalled the start of her career at a small learning disability hospital in 1973. She said: ‘I came across nurses from all backgrounds there, but when I moved up to Great Ormond Street Hospital I was shocked to find none of the 150 nurses were from BME communities. Things have changed, but they have not changed enough.
‘We can make an amazing difference to help each other, we just need to hold out a hand. Like Mary, we must never give up and we must keep trying.’
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