Nurses take part in first social care London Pride march
Adult social care nurses who took part in the sector’s first formal march at the UK’s biggest Pride event have said the experience was unforgettable.
Registered nurses Zoë Fry, Louise Keane, Scarlett MacDonald and Karen Roberts were among the roughly 100-strong group representing adult social care as an organised unit for the first time at London Pride on Saturday, 29 June.
“We always talk about people being individuals, not defining people by labels – I think Pride is an example of that”
Karen Roberts
Ms Fry, executive director of community interest group The Outstanding Society, said the experience was “absolutely fantastic”, adding: “The acknowledgement from the crowd towards adult social care… it just gave us goosebumps.
“We had people with lived experience marching with us which was amazing.”
The group marched the full length of London Pride’s parade, which runs from Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall Place, via Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket and Trafalgar Square.
Ms Fry, who is also chair of the South East Social Care Nursing Advisory Council (SCNAC), organised the group’s attendance at Pride as part of the newly-formed Out Standing Diversity Forum, which aims to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity within the sector.
This forum, she explained, will soon start work on an LGBTQ+ language guide to help adult social care staff use the right terms to avoid offence and be inclusive.
Ms Roberts, a learning disability nurse, Queen’s nurse and co-chair for North East and Yorkshire SCNAC, said: “Adult social care is such a diverse group of people; we were marching for our workforce, but also the people that we support to acknowledge that everybody is an individual.
“I specifically work with people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, etc. So we always talk about people being individuals, not defining people by labels – I think Pride is an example of that.”
Ms Roberts said the group had some moving responses from people watching the parade, including those who are in the adult social care system themselves.
South East SCNAC co-chair Ms MacDonald explained further the importance of adult social care being a visible presence at Pride and more generally.
“For quite a long period, a lot of people haven’t actually seen the value in adult social care, and they see the NHS as their only healthcare organisation,” said Ms MacDonald.
“But we’re proud to be part of social care, we’re social care nursing professionals, not just an aside to the NHS, we are a really strong workforce, we employ more nurses and carers.”
Also at the parade were representatives from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), including outgoing NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe whose last day in post will be Thursday, 4 July.
Ms Keane, a nurse educator and co-chair of the London SCNAC, said it was “amazing” to have Ms Sutcliffe join the march.
“She had all of her NMC colleagues with a big banner, we have this massive group photo of us marching with them – it was really special,” added Ms Keane.
Andrea Sutcliffe (front and centre) with adult social care staff at London Pride
