Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT) is once again taking a proactive approach to supporting Muslim colleagues and creating an inclusive workplace during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The Trust’s Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care (SPaRC) team has joined forces with Bradford Hospitals Charity to get its hospitals Ramadan-ready with the award-winning Ramadan Experience @BTHFT.
The Ramadan Experience @BTHFT will see Muslim colleagues given support during the Holy Month, which is due to start on Saturday, 1 March, with non-Muslim colleagues having the opportunity to share some of the experience, provide support by becoming a Ramadan Ally, and help boost NHS charity funds.
The initiative includes:
- Ramadan Allyship: BTHFT staff supporting Muslim colleagues by being a Ramadan Ally.
- PROP (pop-up prayer room operational) Packs: for managers to create their own dedicated area to be used as a pop-up prayer facility within wards/departments.
- FAST (fasting at BTHFT’s supportive trust) Packs: available to Muslim colleagues containing essential items for Ramadan.
The PROP Packs allow managers to create their own small area within wards/departments to be used as a pop-up prayer facility for their Muslim colleagues to use during the 30 days of Ramadan.
The idea of the packs came about because of managers asking for advice on how to manage releasing staff members for prayers while also continuing with service delivery.
These packs enable colleagues to quickly set up a prayer facility in their own working area without the need to leave their ward or department, reducing unnecessary strains on the service or compromising patient care.
The packs contain an advice sheet for managers on how to support Ramadan in their individual areas and departments, a prayer counter, a Qibla (direction of Mecca) and instructions how to use it, a schedule of prayer times, a pop-up prayer facility poster and a woven prayer mat. The mats have been kindly provided by friends of the Trust in the local community.
As in previous years, FAST Packs will be distributed to colleagues who are fasting to allow them to break their fast on their ward or department. Muslim colleagues will be offered a charity-funded pack containing cool bags, dates, a water bottle and water, prayer counter and prayer timetable – all packaged in a handy drawstring bag.
The bottles of water have been provided by the charity Global Ehsan Relief.
Bradford Hospitals Charity Director, Laura Riach said:
We’re immensely proud to support this initiative for the third consecutive year. It has received many national accolades for its innovative approach to workplace inclusion, and this recognition validates what we’ve always known – that our hospital community excels at supporting one another.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors and supporters, we’ve been able to provide FAST packs to our Muslim colleagues and help create inclusive prayer spaces across our hospitals. It’s great to see how this programme has grown, fostering understanding and support between colleagues and ensuring our Muslim staff can observe Ramadan while caring for our patients.