In this special Black History Month episode of our Leadership Lens series, Jade Beckles had the privilege of speaking with Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Runnymede Trust and a distinguished healthcare leader and former Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing.
With a career spanning over three decades, Dame Donna has been at the forefront of addressing healthcare inequalities, particularly those affecting Black communities. In this interview, she shares her insights on creating meaningful change, building trust in public health, and the importance of culturally competent care. Jade and Donna also discuss how dedicated leadership and an unwavering commitment to health equity can pave the way for a more inclusive healthcare system.
Watch below:
About Professor Dame Donna Kinnair
“You can’t serve someone unless you hear their story. Listening and respect are the foundation for meaningful change.”
Professor Dame Donna Kinnair is a distinguished leader in healthcare and public policy. As the former Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Donna has held numerous influential roles in both clinical and leadership capacities, including Clinical Director of Emergency Medicine and Executive Director of Nursing.
She has championed health equity throughout her career, particularly in areas like maternity care, child protection, and race equality. With over three decades of experience, she has contributed to key public health initiatives and advised on national policies, including the Prime Minister’s Commission on Nursing and Midwifery. She now leads as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Runnymede Trust, working to address racial inequality.
333 Pledges 333 Lives:
Launched during this year’s Black History Month, we are focusing on health disparities within the Black community. This aligns with the Black History Month theme of reclaiming narratives, where we aim to challenge and reshape the narrative around healthcare inequalities and highlight the leaders and exemplary leadership behaviours driving change in this space. One of the health disparities you can take action on to support is the lack of diverse stem cell donors on the register, which Jade and Donna discussed briefly in their conversation. In the UK, people of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage have significantly lower chances of finding a matching stem cell (bone marrow) donor compared to a patient from white, northern European heritage. This disparity costs lives.
Did you know that stem cell donation is ethnicity-specific, meaning you are likely to find a donor from someone with the same or similar heritage as you? By increasing the number of people of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage joining the register, we can begin to address this disparity.
By pledging today, you can help close this gap and give hope to someone in need, reclaiming the narrative around health disparities in the UK.
Watch more Leadership Lens episodes:
The Rules of Engagement: diverse candidates vs organisation’s expectations