How Can Racism, And The Perception Of It, Be Expunged From The NHS?

“Senior managers often become a law unto themselves, so realistically it is very difficult to enforce the policies.” Equality 4 Black Nurses chief executive Neomi Bennett

A review by the NHS Race and Health Observatory established that claims of racism which resulted in formal proceedings were costing the NHS millions of pounds each year.

The Observatory, which was set up to tackle ethnic inequalities in healthcare, demanded ‘better care, training, and anti-racist policies’, which in turn would boost the NHS workforce.

Racism Within NHS Is ‘Cultural’

However, equality campaigner and chief executive of Equality 4 Black Nurses Neomi Bennett cautioned that racism within the NHS was ‘cultural’. She said improved anti-racism policies in the NHS would require greater accountability at senior management levels to be effective.

She revealed that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) nurses are quitting both their jobs and the profession after suffering physical and verbal abuse from managers. In addition, these nurses are being disproportionately referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over fitness to practise concerns.

Given how emotive claims of racism can be, does there need to be a transparent process for resolving them to ensure only the facts of a case are considered, and avoid creating an overarching but erroneous narrative that the NHS is riven with racism?

How Could Racism Be Eliminated From The NHS?

Ms Bennett said that to eliminate racism would require enforcing accountability through investigations and the levying of financial penalties on perpetrators.

She explained to the Nursing Standard that “a pattern…with BAME nurses is that there is often no due process followed. If they do something wrong, the case usually goes from zero to 100 before you can blink. And it does seem to be cultural and across the board.”

Do you think that the NHS is capable of addressing these issues in-house, or will it require outside involvement to ensure that any claims of racism are investigated without fear or favour, and as far up the management tree as is necessary?

“Senior managers often become a law unto themselves, so realistically it is very difficult to enforce the policies.” Equality 4 Black Nurses chief executive Neomi Bennett

Recent Cases Of Racism In Nursing

Cases that Equality 4 Black Nurses are currently working on include that of a black nurse who was locked in a room by her white manager and poked in the face ‘in a fit of anger’. When the nurse complained she was assured the manager’s behaviour not intentional and a mediation between the two was proposed.

Another case saw a black nurse referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council after a patient accused the nurse of inappropriate behaviour. Enquires found the patient had a history of dishonesty, but the Trust reportedly referred the nurse to the NMC regardless. The regulator summarily dismissed the case.

There have also been other nurses winning racial harassment cases in recent months. A senior black nurse in the NHS won a ground-breaking case after her manager was deemed to have created an ‘intimidating, hostile and humiliating’ environment on account of her race.

In another case, a black nurse was told by her manager to bleach her skin so she would look whiter. She was awarded thousands of pounds in compensation.

Is it sadly inevitable for claims of racism to occur in an organisation with such a diverse and multi-ethnic workforce as the NHS? And if so, do you think that, as social attitudes change, this will become less of an issue over time?

Progress Needs To Be Made, Says RCN

The RCN declared there was still a ‘significant distance to travel’ in improving the experience of BAME staff.

“Unless progress is made, we risk further high-profile employment tribunals and ultimately demoralised staff leaving for good in the midst of a workforce crisis” explained Bruno Daniel, RCN diversity and equalities coordinator.

Do you agree with the RCN that leaving racism or the perception of it unaddressed will further exacerbate nursing staffing shortages? And if so, what could be done in the short-term to show nurses that concerns about racism will be dealt with in an unbiased and transparent fashion?

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