UWL Children’s Nurse shines after vital Covid-19 work
Introduction
Going above and beyond to make sure South Asian families have vital healthcare and support through the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a University of West London (UWL) lecturer in the running for a prestigious national award.
Children’s nursing lecturer, Rohit Sagoo is now a finalist in the Leadership category of the RCN Nursing Awards – top accolades in the profession which will this year celebrate excellence during the continuing pandemic.
After his tireless work to ensure the Sikh community has access to vital healthcare information, Rohit spent lockdown dedicating his time to sharing important public health information on Covid-19, translating NHS materials for non-English speakers, and dispelling vaccination myths for South Asian families.
Using Asian television and radio channels and community venues, he’s worked with the government and NHS Blood and Transplant to bridge gaps and ensure health messages are reaching and understood, right across the community.
Rohit, who joined UWL this summer after 20 years in children’s nursing, said:
During my time working as a nurse it became apparent to me just how many gaps there were among these communities and the NHS, with information being lost or not reaching the right places.
It is a pleasure to be nominated as a finalist at this year's RCN Awards for this work. It is so important that everyone feels able and confident about engaging with healthcare organisations and I’m pleased to be able to do my bit to bring about change.
Rohit, a UWL graduate, set up the group, British Sikh Nurses five years ago to address the gaps he saw between the NHS and South Asian communities. The group has since improved organ donation rates and living donors, as well as helping create a bank of 10,000 registered donors from the community across the UK.
As well as being nominated, he will act as a judge in this year’s awards ceremony. The prestigious RCN Nursing Awards celebrate innovation, skill and dedication in nursing across 15 categories, with winners announced on 12 October 2021.