LOCKDOWN may have been quiet for most of us but one Bradford woman was busier than ever helping schools and organisations adapt to the changes caused by Covid-19.
By Anila Baig
We spoke to consultant solicitor turned people’s advocate Ruby Bhatti OBE about how she has been helping to keep the district safe during the pandemic.
Ms Bhatti is well-known in the district for her tireless work on various boards and, most recently, was inducted into the Telegraph & Argus Hall of Fame alongside such luminaries as Ken Morrison and comedian Ade Edmondson.
The qualified consultant solicitor also spends her time as a ‘people’s advocate’- looking at how to improve key bodies like health, research and education for the ordinary person.
She holds a huge number of non-executive roles and sits on a wide range of committees from the NHS to university and others in the education sector.
“My legal knowledge and experience helped me achieve a number of distinguished roles in the education, health and charities sectors at both local and national level.”
Education is of particular interest to Ms Bhatti and she is Trustee of the Dixons Academies Trust, Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust and the Rainbow Trust. She is also chair of primary and secondary schools and also chair of a Bradford local authority school.
The qualified solicitor who has worked in the legal profession for almost 30 years, also supports the university and its students in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences as a Patient Carer lecturer bringing in real life experiences to develop students and the curriculum.
One thing which struck her in particular was how hard staff in schools worked during the Covid crisis.
“I want to give a voice to all the different sectors, this is what I am passionate about, holding positions as a lay person, representing and highlighting the concerns of ordinary people.”
She said: “It is wonderful how hardworking NHS staff were recognised for their efforts during the pandemic but I think that there is one group of key workers who should also be recognised and that is teachers in schools and university staff.
“It has been a very turbulent time for the whole education sector and from the beginning teaching staff have had to work around the clock to adapt to the rapidly changing situation.”
Staff were in schools and university organising the curriculum to switch to online classes.
“There was so much work going on behind the scenes to ensure that teaching continued, that the resources were there so that parents could home school plus the fact that many schools were still open and teaching the children of key workers and had to create safe environments in school at very short notice.
“All the decisions for schools about what to do during these unprecedented times were made by us, the governing body, and that was a huge responsibility. We had to make sure the children were safe, the staff were safe and that there was not too much disruption. It was a very difficult task and still is with the daily changing guidance.”
Health is another area she became interested in after losing her mother and father to ill health.
“Soon after losing my parents I decided that I wanted to give ordinary people a voice. I saw what happened when things went wrong though, equally, I saw what went right.”
She is the deputy chair lay member for the NHS Bradford District and Craven Clinical Commissioning Groups and has recently been appointed on the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Joint CCG.
She is chair of the Wolfson Centre, the Research Institute based at Bradford Royal Infirmary and Patient Research Ambassador for the Bradford Royal Infirmary Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
More recently she is a member of the Clinical Research NetworkYorkshire & Humber Vaccine Trial Group & BAME focus group ensuring the community patient and public voice is heard. It has been extremely busy for her as groups have been meeting weekly since the pandemic began.
“As a member of the BAME community and having underlying health problems myself, I am very keen to make sure that we stay as safe as possible and the lay voice is heard.
“Many of my close friends have contracted Coronavirus and some friends have passed away from the virus at a young age. Some friends did not go into hospital out of choice and some that did, both are still suffering health problems as a result of the virus.
More recently she is a member of the Clinical Research NetworkYorkshire & Humber Vaccine Trial Group & BAME focus group ensuring the community patient and public voice is heard. It has been extremely busy for her as groups have been meeting weekly since the pandemic began.
“As a member of the BAME community and having underlying health problems myself, I am very keen to make sure that we stay as safe as possible and the lay voice is heard.
“Many of my close friends have contracted Coronavirus and some friends have passed away from the virus at a young age. Some friends did not go into hospital out of choice and some that did, both are still suffering health problems as a result of the virus.
“For a lot of the elders in the community, who don’t perhaps have access to online facilities, the crisis has been very isolating and I know an older blind gentleman who doesn’t understand why he can’t visit anyone or have any visitors. It is heart-breaking.”
But Ruby believes that there is widespread mistrust in the community of the vaccine.
“I have heard people say that they will not be vaccinated, that there is a conspiracy and that the authorities want to give people the virus. All I know is that BAME people are most at risk and we have to take precautions.”
All her meetings are now conducted online and she is powering ahead with plans to keep on representing the voice of the people.
“I heard about the Hall of Fame and I felt very proud to be recognised. I want to be the voice of the ordinary people the recognition is great but I will continue to stay humble and focus on the work.
“We all know that health is wealth and we have the youngest population in Europe so we need to ensure that our young people have physical well-being as this will ensure Bradford stays healthy in the future.”
