Nimble-fingered NHS staff are busy clicking their knitting needles and crochet hooks to decorate their Brighton Pride float with a mile-long garland of woolly flowers.
The knitters and crochet makers from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUH) aim to produce 1,967metres of floral chain for the Pride event, which is celebrating the 1967 Summer of Love and 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised.
More than 30 staff will be on the float and 75 will be walking alongside wearing sashes sporting their BSUH job role. The Trust will also have a stall at Pride, 4-6 August, and at Trans Pride, 21-23 July, promoting its staff, apprentice and volunteer recruitment.
Lead chaplain, the Rev Canon Peter Wells, said: “The message is we are a proudly diverse workforce. We want to be welcoming to our staff, patients and visitors, to show we strongly support our local community, and to let people know that BSUH is a good place to work.
“There’s also the fun side too. When you’re working in a hospital environment which can be stressful at times, a strong network of friendships and professional relationships is invaluable. I’m sure Pride will help us to build and strengthen that further.”
