New group formed to support Keralite nurses in UK launched in parliament

The launch of the Alliance of Senior Kerala Nurses (ASKeN). Leena Vinod, (second left), and then Bejoy Sebastian, Seema Malhotra, Swapna Thomas. Middle back is Duncan Burton, with Sajan Sathyan and Samantha Donohue

LONDON June 10: A new group that is aiming to boost career progression and support for nurses from the Indian state of Kerala has now been officially launched during at event in parliament, Nursing Times reported.

The Alliance of Senior Kerala Nurses (ASKeN) formally launched this week at the House of Commons, backed by the chief nursing officer (CNO) team at NHS England, and other high-profile nursing figures as well as a Labour frontbencher.

ASKeN aims to increase representation of Keralan nursing staff at Agenda for Change band 8 and above, boost pastoral care for new arrivals, and facilitate peer support for those already in senior roles.

This will be done by giving current senior nurses a forum to share resources and ideas, as well as mentoring and distributing information and training to people lower down the Agenda for Change bands, under the tagline ‘lift as you climb’.

At the ASKeN launch event, senior nurses from Kerala shared their personal experiences of struggling to get promotions, compared to their White British colleagues, and of feeling isolated by the lack of high-ranking nurses who looked like them.

Sajan Sathyan, founding member of ASKeN and deputy chief nurse at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, came to the UK in 2003 as a qualified nurse from Kerala.

Mr Sathyan reflected on his personal need for an organisation like ASKeN when he was younger: “Every time I wanted some support to progress, there was no one to ask who looked like me.

“So what I had to do was attend the interviews, away from home, that I was not intending to get only to get interview experience. That’s the journey I travelled.”

Mr Sathyan continued that the fact Keralite nurses – also known as Malayalee nurses – have been in the NHS for 70 years, but are still so underrepresented at the top level, was a problem that needed addressing.

People from India are now one of the largest demographic groups in UK nursing. Of this group, the majority are trained from Kerala, a state which has a long history and heritage of nurse training.

Leena Vinod, senior nursing lecturer and Edge Hill University and ASKeN co-chair, referred to a “gross underrepresentation” of Keralite nurses in senior positions in the NHS, and said more needed to be done to support them.

Bejoy Sebastian, ASKeN co-founder and senior nurse at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, added that he felt the need to back the creation of the group following first-hand experience of the strains put on internationally trained nurses.

He recalled almost quitting a job early in his NHS career, after facing inflexibility from managers when he had needed to go to India for the birth of his baby, despite him providing three months’ notice.

“I was determined to resign,” he said.

“I was begging my managers for a day off to stay with my newborn baby coming in three months’ time, but they said no and wanted me to fly back from India for an enrolment day.”

He said it was an interaction with a patient that changed his mind about quitting at that time, however he wanted to ensure other international nurses were not put in similar situations going forward.

He said ASKeN would be about “challenging norms” and ensuring people know their rights.

Seema Malhotra, Labour MP for Feltham and Heston and shadow minister for business and consumers, praised the group and formally launched ASKeN at the event.

She said she was “proud” to be hosting the event, and added: “The systems that should be there to support you, do the opposite, and as Bejoy said makes you make the unenvious choice between your own mental wellbeing and your family.

“You should never be put into that position, but we know so many have been. It’s our job as politicians to stand up for you.

“Bejoy, I hope your story becomes one of the past.”

Ms Malhotra, who is of Indian Hindu descent, continued: “We are a diverse nation, and making sure we have our nation represented within our public services is vital.

“It’s also important we have that representation at very senior levels.”

She said that ASKeN’s mission statement was important for ensuring the future of the NHS nursing workforce.

“When you see young people in schools, and see them making choices about which career is right for them, they look at the top,” said the MP.

“They look at where their career journey is at the top, and if they can’t see it, they think they can’t be it.

“It shouldn’t be like this.”

The event later heard from Duncan Burton, deputy CNO for NHS England, who said international nurses had “stepped up” to the challenges facing the health service.

With the NHS’ 75 birthday next month, Mr Burton said it was the perfect time to back a group like ASKeN in its mission to increase top-level representation for Malayalee nurses, as well as other minority ethnic nurses.

“Over the last few years, we’ve had thousands of nurses and midwives arrive into England,” Mr Burton said.

“And the contribution of those international nurses is absolutely significant and the skills and experience you bring.

“This kind of event, and the formation of colleagues coming together, really strengthens the recognition and influence of international nurses.”

Mr Burton acknowledged that there were gaps for supporting international nurses, but said in his capacity as deputy CNO, he was hoping to continue to improve things.

He went on: “We have to recognise how important it is to support those colleagues joining the NHS from overseas.

“One of the great privileges I have is go around the county to meet international nurses, and go to Heathrow [airport] to meet colleagues getting off the flights.

“For some of them, it’s the first time they have left their countries or even got on a plane.

“One of the things I hear loud and clear form them is they say, when I ask them why they want to join the NHS, they have come hoping for career development and progression.

“So, we have to live up to that. It’s all our responsibility and it’s great to see the senior alliance come together to support that even further.”

Mr Burton said CNO Dame Ruth May, who was unable to attend the launch, supported the creation of the group.

He said both he and the CNO had been keen on promoting the work of international nursing and midwifery associations (INMAs), like ASKeN, in helping to fix inequities in the health service.

Also present and backing the group were Jeni Caguioa, head of global for the Florence Nightingale Foundation; Royal College of Nursing chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger; nursing director Felicia Kwaku; Samantha Donohue, assistant director of the Nursing and Midwifery Council; Dr Ged Byrne, director of global engagement for NHS England; and Dr Rose McCarthy, head of global workforce for NHS England.

The event concluded with the supporting health leaders all being adorned with traditional Kerala veils as ASKeN was formally launched.