North Bristol NHS Trust senior nurse appointed to national joint chair role
A senior nurse at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) has been appointed as joint chair of an influential national equality and diversity group.
Gifty Markey, who is Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity at NBT, and Vinice Thomas, Director of Nursing and Quality at NHS England, have been appointed as Joint Chairs of the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Midwifery Officer Black and Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group.
Gifty has over 21 years’ experience in nursing across five NHS organisations in different specialities including forensic, crisis teams, psychiatric liaison, psychiatric intensive care, acute mental health, acute general hospital, and community hospitals.
Gifty, who will take on the Joint Chair role alongside her NBT role, said: “It is a great privilege to be appointed as Joint Chair of the CNO and CMidO Black and Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group. This is an opportunity to support the vision to promote and provide equity and inclusive leadership in the nursing and midwifery workforce nationally.
“As a person with lived experience, I am fully committed to promoting a more inclusive workplace and I am confident this role will give me the platform to influence and lead the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, promoting transparency, equality and equity in opportunities.
“I am delighted to be representing NBT at a national level and grateful for all the support from my Chief Nursing Officer at NBT, Professor Steve Hams, and NBT Chief Executive Officer Maria Kane in my development since joining the Trust in 2021. I am indeed an NBT Proud Nurse.”
Gifty was born and bred in Ghana, where she undertook her First degree (BA Hons.) in English and Theatres Arts at the University of Ghana, before undertaking further education and training in the UK in Mental Health Nursing and an MSc in Leadership and Organisations in Public Services at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol.
She is passionate about advocating for patients and staff, and is also a keen advocate of the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda supporting NHS organisations to optimise this.
Gifty has expertise in managing complex patients and has worked as a Care Quality Commission (CQC) Specialist Advisor with a keen interest in improving quality of service, patient experience, patient safety, and patient outcomes.
Passionate about improving health inequalities for patients and staff, Gifty is also an advocate for improving staff wellbeing, supporting this through various initiatives.
North Bristol NHS Trust senior nurse appointed to national joint chair role