Responding to a new report, Too hot to
handle, which finds the health service is falling short
in tackling race discrimination, Sir Hartley, chief executive at NHS
Providers said:
“This report highlights the pressing need for systemic change in
the NHS to address the impact of racism on ethnic minority staff,
particularly those in lower pay bands.
“The experiences of racism shared are deeply distressing and must
not be tolerated.
“Trust leaders are working hard to tackle racism in the NHS, but
more must be done to ensure all staff feel empowered to speak up
and are confident that their concerns will be acted on.
“Comprehensive onboarding and continued support for
internationally recruited staff would help address disparities in
reporting concerns. But it’s not up to them to fix this.
“The Messenger review was clear that a targeted mid-career
programme for managers is key to embedding collaborative
leadership and organisational values. Mid-career management and
HR teams must be better trained to respond to racism and
discrimination to ensure they are dealing with concerns raised by
ethnic minority staff properly.
“Trust leaders should develop anti-racism strategies that
actively dismantle inequities within organisational culture,
setting clear standards of behaviour with a focus on allyship to
reduce the double burden on ethnic minority staff.
“Our Race Equality
programme aims to change hearts and minds, improving the
confidence and capability of trust leaders through
emphasising good practice and embedding accountability at board
level. Tangible action must trump tick-box exercises to drive
real change promoting equity and inclusivity at every level of
the NHS.”
