Pride in Health + Wellbeing’s (PIHW) foundational member, NurseWatch has recently achieved Rainbow Tick accreditation. This blog looks at why NurseWatch decided to commit to Rainbow Tick Accreditation, and through their PIHW membership how they have achieved this.
Kate Spurway, Founder, and CEO, NurseWatch has always believed in and practiced quality health care for every member of the community. With her many friends in the LGBTQ community, Kate is a natural ally and wanted to ensure NurseWatch offered safe and inclusive wellness and care service that was tailored to the needs of older LGBTQ clients. She has processes in place to ensure every member of the NurseWatch team is trained in inclusive care practices and shares her values of respect, kindness, compassion, and inclusive quality care.
“Inclusion is crucial to growing and sustaining NurseWatch, all businesses, and our workforce. It creates happier employees who will offer the best level of care possible. When everyone feels included, morale goes up, and output increases. Diversity is nothing without an inclusive workplace culture and we celebrate and recognise the uniqueness of every one of our team, colleagues, and clients every day.”
“It takes more than a rainbow sticker to make LGBTIQ people feel safe. LGBTIQ people need services that promise we see you, we hear you, and we always seek to provide you with the best possible care. Rainbow Tick is a world-first quality framework to help organisations become safe and inclusive for the LGBTIQ community. Organisations with the Rainbow Tick have worked hard to be safe and inclusive for our communities.” says Kate. “As we approach the four year of NurseWatch, the benefits of accreditation in relation to Governance Framework are invaluable. By committing to an accreditation framework, we insured NurseWatch’s systems and processes are in place. As we grow and expand we are assured exemplary foundations laid will endure NurseWatch’s growth and our staff and consumers are safe.”
Why should other organisations be LGBT inclusive?
“All organisations should LGBTQ inclusive because why not! At NurseWatch, we receive such joy from our diverse range of clients and unique community. LGBTQ inclusiveness should be a prerequisite for providing quality care”
Why the Rainbow Tick?
“I chose to embark on the process of getting the Rainbow Tick as it was imperative for NurseWatch to ensure from the get go that we have a proven culture of inclusion and that we embrace diversity. It means we have the systems and processes in place to provide inclusive service delivery, and that we are responsive and understanding of the needs of everyone we come in contact with.”
How has being a member of PiHW helped you achieve RT?
Our PiHW membership has enabled our preparation for Rainbow Tick. With PIHW’s help we ensured our service delivery met the needs of our LGBTQ clients, that our staff were trained, and that the full lifecycle of client engagement was truly inclusive. Claire, the National Program Manager for PiHW, mentored our organisation and was also there for our RT audit with QIP.
About the Rainbow Tick.
The Rainbow Tick consists of six standards (Organisational Capability, Workforce Development, Consumer participation, A welcoming and accessible organisation, Disclosure and documentation and Culturally safe and acceptable services) against which services can be formally accredited to demonstrate LGBTI inclusive practice and service delivery. For further information on the Rainbow Tick progress visit: www.qip.com.au/standards/rainbow-tick-standards/