North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) is proud to announce that Wellington Makala, Chief Nursing Officer, Executive Director of Nursing and Director of Infection Prevention and Control, has been shortlisted for the Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year award at the Nursing Times Workforce Awards.

The prestigious award recognises individuals who champion equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and celebrates those who are creating meaningful and positive change for colleagues.

Wellington's shortlisting reflects his commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging across NELFT, supporting initiatives that help ensure staff, patients, carers and communities feel valued, respected and empowered. His leadership has helped strengthen opportunities for internationally educated nurses, advance work with patients and carers through the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF), and promote inclusion, learning and engagement across patient safety programmes.

Commenting on the shortlisting, Wellington said:

"I am deeply honoured to be shortlisted, but I see this recognition as being much bigger than me. It reflects the collective work happening across NELFT to create an organisation where people feel seen, valued, heard and that they belong.

That commitment extends from how we welcome and support our internationally educated nurses and create inclusive environments for our staff, to how we work alongside patients, carers and communities through PCREF, and how we strengthen inclusion, voice and learning through our patient safety work.

Belonging is ultimately about people our staff, our patients, our carers and the communities we serve. So while my name may appear on the shortlist, I see this as recognition of the many colleagues and communities across NELFT who are helping us build a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and flourish. This recognition belongs to all of us."

Congratulations to Wellington on this well-deserved recognition and best of luck for the awards.