This week saw the publication of a damning review by the NHS Race & Health Observatory which shows that urgent action is needed to tackle “overwhelming” minority ethnic health inequalities in the NHS.
Doctors working in the NHS have, however, called for more action rather than reports. Responding to the report Dr Rajesh Mohan, Presidential Lead for Race and Equality at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “The Race and Health Observatory’s findings are damning. It’s clear that the government and the NHS must do more if it’s to stop the healthcare system from failing ethnic minority people.”
He called for “warm words to end and for the government to act” including strengthening the Health and Care Bill to ensure data and monitoring systems are in place that enable the NHS to identify and address discrepancies in access, experience and outcomes for all minority groups plus a “systematic shift in culture and practice, including designing and commissioning services collaboratively with people from ethnic minority backgrounds.”
Full story in The Lowdown, 20 February 2022