The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has signed the Become the Bridge Anti-Racism Pledge, committing to take meaningful action to challenge racism and create a more inclusive workplace for colleagues and the communities it serves.
The Trust signed the pledge on Thursday 29 October, joining the North East Anti-Racism Coalition’s (NEARC) regional initiative to challenge racism and work towards a fairer, stronger North East.
Become the Bridge brings together organisations from across the region to share experiences, learn from one another and take practical steps to challenge racism within their systems and practices.
Chief executive Kev Scollay said: “Signing the Become the Bridge pledge is an important step in reaffirming our commitment to building a workplace where everyone feels they belong, is respected and has the opportunity to thrive.
“We know that signing a pledge is only the beginning. We must be prepared to listen to our colleagues, learn from their experiences and challenge racism wherever it occurs. That means turning our commitments into meaningful action and being accountable for the progress we make.
“Everyone at NEAS has a role to play in creating an inclusive culture, and I want us to continue working together to ensure that respect, fairness and equality are reflected in everything we do.”
For NEAS, signing the pledge marks an important commitment to listening to colleagues, understanding their experiences and ensuring everyone feels respected, valued and supported at work. It also reinforces the Trust’s responsibility to provide compassionate, inclusive care to the diverse communities it serves.
Loveness Scott, positive action lead at NEAS, works directly with ethnic minority communities across the region to support engagement and help address barriers to inclusion. She said: “Through my work with ethnic minority communities across the North East, I see how important it is that people feel listened to, respected and confident that their experiences matter.
“Signing the Become the Bridge pledge is not just a commitment to our colleagues; it is also a commitment to our patients and the communities we serve. Everyone deserves to receive care that is compassionate, respectful and inclusive, regardless of their background.
“We have a responsibility to understand the barriers people may face, challenge discrimination and build trust with the communities who rely on us. This pledge gives us an opportunity to strengthen that commitment and ensure our actions reflect the values we want people to experience when they come into contact with NEAS.”
The pledge builds on the work already being undertaken by Together@NEAS, the Trust’s ethnically diverse and faith employee network, which is one of six staff networks supporting more than 3,700 colleagues across the service.
Together@NEAS provides a voice for ethnically diverse colleagues, colleagues of faith and allies, helping to ensure their experiences inform decisions, policies and practices across the organisation. The network has already helped drive positive change across the Trust. Its work has included contributing to the development of the Trust’s Hate Crime Guide, which raises awareness of hate crime, explains how colleagues can report incidents and outlines the support available to them.
The network also provided welfare support to ethnically diverse colleagues during a period of public disorder in 2024, advises managers on race equality and culturally sensitive matters, and helps inform Trust policies and practices.
Paul Nicholson, executive champion for the Together@NEAS network, said: “Together@NEAS exists to make sure the voices and experiences of our ethnically diverse colleagues, colleagues of faith and allies are heard, understood and considered in the decisions that affect them.
“Signing the Become the Bridge pledge is important because it reinforces the need to move beyond good intentions and turn listening into action. We want colleagues to feel confident that their experiences will be taken seriously, that their voices can influence change and that they can be themselves at work without fear of discrimination.
“We hope this commitment will help us build on the work already underway, strengthen accountability and create a more inclusive organisation for colleagues and the communities we serve.”
Through Become the Bridge, participating organisations commit to working collaboratively, sharing learning where appropriate and developing practical anti-racism actions within 12 months, alongside monitoring progress.
Nitin Shukla, trustee for the North East Anti-Racism Coalition, said: “We are delighted to welcome the North East Ambulance Service to Become the Bridge. NEAS cares for every community across our region, so its commitment to tackling racism, both within its workforce and in the care it provides, sends a powerful message. We look forward to working alongside colleagues at NEAS to turn this pledge into lasting action, building a North East where everyone is treated fairly and feels they truly belong.”
NEAS will continue to build on its existing work by listening to colleagues, learning from their experiences and working together to identify opportunities for improvement across the Trust.