A psychologist and former NBA international basketball star from Stockport was the guest speaker at an event on LGBT inclusiveness at Stepping Hill Hospital.

John Amaechi OBE is an organisational psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, and CEO of Amaechi Performance Systems, a leadership consultancy working in Europe and the United States.

John grew up in Heaton Moor in Stockport, before becoming one of the leading NBA basketball players in the USA in the 1990s. He is the only Briton to have his jersey hung in the US Basketball Hall of Fame.

John was one of the first major sports stars to come out as gay, and has since been regarded as one of the world’s most high profile LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) athletes. He received an OBE for work in the voluntary sector in 2011, and credited Stepping Hill Hospital with “saving his life” in 2013 following a chest operation.

The event was part of the hospital’s LGBT History Month celebrations and opened by Adrian Belton, Chair of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill. With the aid of real life stories, the event explored how the NHS can be truly inclusive of the LGBT community.

John was supported by a presentation from the LGBT Foundation’s Macmillan Project Coordinator, Lawrie Roberts on highlighting health inequalities experienced by the LGBT community. This was alongside an inspiring talk by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Equality Diversity & Inclusion Lead and Co- founder of the Trans Equality Legal Initiative , Tara Hewitt , on how to be a an effective Trans Ally.

John Amaechi said, “From the inception of the NHS, inclusion has been at its core. Today, inclusion is key to the staff, nurse and clinical engagement that leads to exceptional patient care. I am always pleased to be in my home town and double proud, as a non-executive in the NHS, to be able to contribute to an ever more inclusive NHS culture that will help our services be resilient in these challenging times.”