60 Seconds with....Ray Singh
LGBTQ+ History Month is well underway with all our sites hosting activities across the month. To celebrate we spoke with Ray Sing from The Royal London Hospital on why he thinks it's important for Barts Health to have LGBTQ+ Staff Diversity Network.
Thank you for taking part in our LQBTQ+ Staff Stories. Can you tell us what you do and where you work?
I work out of Royal London Trust Exec Office and across sites. The Trust actively seeks for ways to personally and collectively recognise employees – I lead a few inspiring projects within this criteria.
Can you tell us about your experience at Barts Health as a staff member who openly identifies as LGBTQ+. Has it been positive or negative?
It’s been positive. I never apply for a job with the concern of whether I will be ‘accepted’ or the anxiety of not ‘fitting in’. I wouldn’t know if any of my negative experiences transpired because a member of staff or patient was discriminating toward me. I used to cover shifts on A&E reception at Newham, and I remember on a night shift a patient struggled to accept that there was a 4 hour wait, he decided to call me names that I couldn’t even spell – after his impressive catalogue of verbal abuse, I could only respond with ‘it’s still a 4 hour wait.’
Why do you think it is important for Barts Health to have a LGBTQ+ Staff Diversity Network?
Diversity for me is a long journey, and I can’t say that I’ve reached my destination yet. We can raise the pace on this journey by having such networks. Everyone might be able to understand some of my experiences on an emotional and intellectual level. However, someone within my network may understand a little further. Having various types of networks can also give the Trust a competitive edge to others.
How do you think Barts Health can become more accessible to LGBTQ+ staff and patients?
I don’t know if Barts Health needs to? If the final destination is to be an all-embracing trust in an all-embracing society, I feel as though I am contributing to the accessibility by just 'being'. For instance, the type of clothes I wear does not affect the quality of my work and neither should my personal lifestyle. But my experience is from an admin and management point of view. I can’t comment on clinical or inpatient interactions of staff with patients who are LGBTQ+.
Finally, our theme for LGBT History month is LBGT Heroes. Who is yours and why?
Humphrey Barclay is high on my LGBT hero list; he produced the sitcom Desmond’s, a TV comedy that featured a richly diverse cast. The show screamed familiarity in every West Indian household including my own. Also, I attended a secondary school in east London which wasn’t necessarily a walk in the park. When the school bell rang at 3.15pm to signal home time, I sunk in relief knowing that I made it through another day lol, I became my own hero on a daily basis.
Ray Singh,
Project Lead, Corporate Affairs
Royal London Hospital