NHS Midlands has launched the Midlands Development Aspirant Ethnic Minority Nursing and Midwifery Leaders (DAL) Programme to contribute towards reducing healthcare inequalities in the region.
The DAL programme pilot has been launched to ensure career progression and development is available to ethnic minority midwives and nurses in the region, providing leadership and representative workforce at all levels.
According to NHS, nearly a quarter of midwives and nurses make up the NHS Midlands workforce and evidence has shown that a workforce that is representative of the community it serves can have a positive impact on patient care.
The programme focuses on combining leadership development, strategic and operational experience, bespoke senior clinical support and career coaching.
Midwives and nurses complete the DAL programme over 12 months which will be a mixture of 23 days of study and four days each month to evidence their impact through a stretch assignment that improves patient care or enhances continuous professional development.
Current evaluation of the programme has shown 100 per cent of participants passed the Mary Seacole programme, 40 per cent have applied for different roles and secondments as a direct result of the programme, and participants have been praised nationally by winning prestigious awards.
The DAL programme was awarded a Black, African and Ethnic Minority Health & Care Award 2022 for outstanding corporate achievement.
The programme was created by Midlands regional Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and Chief Midwifery Officer (CMidO) Ethnic Minority Expert Reference Group, the regional CNO and CMidO BME Strategic Advisory Group representative, the NHS England Regional Nursing team, and the National and Midlands Leadership and Lifelong Learning Academy.
Applications are now being accepted for the second cohort of the DAL programme, with 33 places available. Successful applicants will join the programme in October 2022.
More information about the DAL programme and how to apply can be found on the NHS website here.
