A number of NHS employers, including ambulance services in the North East and North West, hospitals in Northampton, Blackpool and Kettering, and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), were recognised on the Talent Inclusivity and Diversity Evaluation (Tide) benchmarking list for this year.
The Tide Awards, which are run by the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI), benchmark employers into gold, silver and bronze categories according to their success in promoting and embedding a range of practices that promote diversity and inclusion among their workforces.
The NHSBSA was among those given the gold award for diversity and inclusion, alongside the North West Ambulance Service, North East Ambulance Service, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
The 155 award submissions spanned 26 sectors altogether, with other gold award winners including legal services firm DWF, Police Scotland, and professional services business PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Employers in the silver category included infrastructure group Balfour Beatty, law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, and Coventry City Council.
In the bronze category, ENEI’s Tide awards recognised employers such as finance and insurance business AIG, vehicle manufacturer BMW Group, and art museum the Victoria and Albert.
Michael Brodie, chief executive of the NHSBSA, said: “I’m really pleased that our approach to diversity and inclusion has once again been recognised with an [ENEI] gold benchmark. The results show we have sustained or improved our practices yet further over the past few years since we were first assessed.
“It’s fantastic to be recognised as one of the most inclusive organisations in the UK. We always strive to ensure that NHSBSA is a great place to work and we will not rest on our laurels.”
The ENEI was contacted for comment prior to publication.