One in three minority NHS workers face discrimination
The Independent|January 25, 2023
The health service is failing to tackle racism in its ranks
REBECCA THOMAS, NADINE WHITE
One in three minority NHS workers face discrimination

A third of Black and ethnic minority health staff have suffered racism or bullying as the NHS fails to address "systemic" levels of discrimination, The Independent can reveal. Levels of bullying and harassment of minority workers have not improved in the past five years with almost 30 per cent saying they have been targeted in the past year, compared to 20 per cent of white staff.

Despite being one-quarter of the workforce, minority ethnic staff make up just 10 per cent of the most senior positions, the NHS’s flagship report is set to reveal. One nurse told The Independent she was forced to leave her job following a campaign of bullying, while another, who has left for the private sector, said her mental health was hugely impacted by the discrimination she experienced.

Equality for Black Nurses, a membership organisation founded by Neomi Bennett in 2020, has launched 200 cases of alleged racism against a number of NHS trusts since it was set up. “Racism is driving nurses out of the NHS,” Ms Bennett, told The Independent, warning that this issue had reached “pandemic levels”.

“I see day in and day out the effects of racial bullying and how this impacts nurses across the UK,” Ms Bennett continued. “The bullying of Black nurses has reached pandemic levels and goes unchallenged. However, there is a clear difference in experiences when comparing Black nurses’ difficulties to white nurses.”

This story is from the January 25, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the January 25, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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