Every Body Matters - positive action for disabled NHS job applicants

NHS Bradford and Airedale identified a need to employ more disabled people. The Every Body Matters project is the way they responded to this need. The project was developed by the trust in conjunction with Arthritis Care. It was a one-day positive action course aimed at disabled people who had applied for a position at the trust but had been unsuccessful. Three of these courses were held in 2009 and then independently evaluated. The evaluation was very positive and the course is now offered to unsuccessful disabled and black and minority ethnic applicants who have applied for jobs in any of the four local NHS Trusts. Evaluators found that 38% of the course participants who have been seeking work had gained employment within the following six month period.The project won the Equality and Diversity award at the 2010 Yorkshire and the Humber Social Partnerships Forum.