Solent NHS Trust director talks about racism he has experienced and his desire to change the world for his son

Gordon Muvuti is director of partnerships at Solent NHS Trust and has worked in mental health nursing for more than 15 years.

The father-of-one said during his career he has experienced ‘a huge amount of racism’, including trolling on social media, but Gordon told The News he is determined to make changes for the next generation.

The 43-year-old said: ‘Throughout my career, I have encountered a huge amount of racism. I remember when a patient made a complaint, stating that they didn’t want to be nursed by a black person. In swapping the patient’s care to a white nurse, my manager inadvertently was supporting the very systemic problems I was trying to overcome.

‘In more recent times, and especially with the Black Lives Matter movement, I have found that on social media people feel emboldened to vent prejudices and the rise of keyboard warriors. Someone can cause you a lot of hurt just by pressing a few keys on their mobile phone whereas years ago you would have to travel miles to tell someone to their face what you think of them.

‘In pushing back against the questions about where I came from and against racist tropes, I discovered a passion for leadership. I felt then as I do now; I have a duty to change the landscape for black BAME colleagues.

‘I believe I have to change the system for those coming behind me.’

Gordon studied adult nursing at the University of Surrey and midway through nurse training switched to a mental health ward where he found his passion.

He said: ‘I was born in Zimbabwe before independence and during an overtly post-colonial time. My mum was a nurse in the air force and my father was in corporate insurance.

‘They had grown up in a time where black people had to fight for their independence, neither of them had the opportunity to attend university and they viewed education as the way to escape the system of oppression and set a platform for my future. I grew up with this instilled in me from a very early age.’

‘When I look back, what really strikes me about that time is how few black role models there where for me to look up to. I had got to where I was solely due to my upbringing, which had forced me to shift my mindset, resulting in me becoming quite driven.

‘As a result, I was never the sort of person who was afraid to put myself out there and take a chance. But it makes you wonder about those who didn’t have that positive push; how can you be ‘it’ if you don’t see ‘it’?'

Solent NHS Trusthas aBAME and Allies Resource Group as part of its commitment to equality and diversity.

Part of the group is Elton Dzikiti, who is also from Zimbabwe.

The 45-year-old said: ‘Problems are not an issue that is black versus white, it is about humanity. It is about our failures as people to treat each other fairly and justly.

‘Within Solent we are fortunate to have an executive that is very supportive of our strive for equality.

‘We have formed a BAME and ally resource group and it is open to anyone across the trust to come together and share experiences and chat through about better ways through for our organisation.’

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But Gordon wants to see more work across the NHS as a whole.

He explained: ‘There is a dissonance between the talk around the Race Equality Action Plan, delivered some 20 years ago, and tangible action.

In Birmingham, where over 40 per cent of the population is BAME, all of the executives at the five trusts are white and three of them haven’t had a black executive in 20 years.

Even in our STP in Hampshire, I am the only black executive and evidence from across the UK shows that this is commonplace; where is the appetite for genuine change to be reflected in corporate leadership?

‘As our society begins to acknowledge systemic racism, it is vital that the NHS, as the largest employer in the UK, addresses the issue and provides the hope that is required. Without it, nothing will fundamentally change.’

Gordon added: ‘I don’t see anything significant changing for me but what I do today can make a difference for the next generation, for my two-year-old son so that he doesn’t have to experience the things that I have.

‘When tackling 400 years of racism, you take the baton, hold yourself to account and aim to do your bit, hoping you have made a difference for at least one individual’s experience.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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