Julie Wall is the operational lead and head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights at NHS Blackburn with Darwen.
What nobody had realised till today is that that she's also a bit of a poet.
Jules explains that she thought of this poem and wrote it down whilst sitting in her car in a Liverpool car park, waiting to go into a meeting.
Colleagues are asking for details of the car park so that they, too, can head there for inspiration.
The Human Rights Rap
by Jules Wall (Oct 2012)
How to get the message across,
The human rights are an absolute must
The language used needs to flex and bend,
So the message is right that you send.
Articles and Acts turn clinicians off,
Some of them even sit and scoff.
Patient outcomes are the best to use,
If you don’t want the board to sit and snooze.
Consider the life of dear old Betty,
The elderly lady who’d just turned eighty
She sat in her bed all day long
No water to drink, well that’s just wrong.
The jug was left at the end of her bed,
And was still there, after Betty was dead,
Her human rights were not protected
And a heart attack was suspected.
Poor Betty died dehydrated,
Because her human rights were just not rated
All she needed was a cup of tea
And then to be treated with dignity.
We all belong to the human race
It doesn’t matter the colour of skin on your face
Or where you live, or where you were born
Your rights are yours from night to morn,
Our duty is to see the light
And ensure we treat people right
Fairness, respect and equality,
Along with autonomy and dignity
So when you make you considerations
Include human rights in your deliberations
