Mark Stephens (above), our Trust security advisor, has been a key ally for our LGBT+ staff network since it started, and it’s clear why we need allies like him.

He said: “As a straight man, I was invited to attend the network as a friend when it first started. I remember coming out of one of the meetings and a colleague waiting outside said to me, ‘I didn’t know you were one of those’.

“It didn’t bother me, but it got me thinking, ‘what did it matter if I was?’ I’ve seen a difference in how people are treated right back to my days in the military in the early 80s, when my girlfriend at the time was kicked out for being accused of lesbianism, just for lying on opposite ends of the same bed with another female. The rule was that you had to have at least a foot on the floor. We’ve come a long way since then and I find that the inclusivity between staff in our Trust is mostly good, however, I’ve seen the way patients and visitors sometimes react to our staff due to their sexuality.”

Mark’s role as an ally for our network involves providing support to the chair, our Head of Patient Experience, Victoria Miles-Gale, this could be anything from helping with the distribution of our Pride half-rainbow lanyards, attending network meetings, and supporting vulnerable members of our LGBT+ community.

Victoria said: “Mark has been with the network since day one and is our most consistent ally. He supports us in everything we do and this makes a huge difference, to me, to our networks members, and our wider LGBT+ community, including those we care for.

“I am so grateful to Mark for his support, and would like to encourage more of our colleagues to join us as allies.”

So what would Mark say to others, to encourage them to join our network, whether as a member of the LGBT+ community, or an ally?

“Come along and don’t be afraid, we’re a friendly bunch. No one will put any pressure on you to identify whether you are part of the LGBT+ community, or are attending as an ally.

“I’m proud to be an ally and doing my bit to ensure our Trust can offer the most inclusive service for our LGBT+ community. We need more people to become allies to challenge negative behavior and help us get to a place where everyone is treated equally, on a level playing field.”

Watch our video of Mark talking about his role as an ally below.

You can find out more about our network, and becoming an ally, by emailing Bhrut.lgbtnetwork@nhs.net. This is a secure address only accessed by our chair and one other network member, so can also be used for confidential correspondence.