Posted on: 7 February 2022
Dear colleagues,
We are saddened to read the latest report from the British Medical Association (BMA) on racism in the NHS. This reported highlighted that at least 75% of ethnic minority doctors have experienced racism in the last two years, with 17.4% experiencing racism on a regular basis and almost 60% reporting an impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
We know through our work on this important agenda that this is a reality that many of our colleagues have faced. It’s important that we recognise and support those for whom this data resurfaces trauma and provide you with the assurance that we are continually striving to address racism in West Yorkshire.
As a Partnership, we are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and have developed our Root out Racism movement with over 100 colleagues sharing their lived experiences and over 580 organisations / community allies being ambassadors.
The anti-racism movement was a direct recommendation from the Tackling Health Inequalities for Ethnic Minority Colleagues and Communities Review which we have driven forward since October 2020. We continue to progress the review’s action plan which involves the development of independent panels to review all cases of discrimination in disciplinary and complaints cases.
Prior to the publication of this report, we had begun to develop a work plan focusing on the Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard.
Some of the Partnership’s executive team have met with Partha Kar, the Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Lead for NHS England, to seek further expertise on this work.
One of the outcomes of that meeting was to source a breakdown of the Medical WRES data for our system so that we can address the support colleagues need across West Yorkshire head on. Our efforts will be adequately resourced through our Integrated Care Board development, with a Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard Lead role. The role will strengthen our response to rooting out racism, and provide additional support to our Race Equality Network, leadership executive group, and wider Partnership colleagues’.
Our commitment to tackling racism is absolute and unwavering. We have a strong working relationship with organisations including the NHS Race and Health Observatory, of which Dr Chaand Nagpaul (Chair of the Council of the BMA) is a board member.
Through the West Yorkshire Race Equality Network, we have engaged with other lived experience networks, including the British Physicians of Indian Origin and the national APNA NHS South Asian Heritage Leaders Network. We will continue to maximise these relationships to discuss and collaborate on this important agenda.
We know that ultimately only sustained efforts and action can address this over the long-term. In the meantime, we would encourage all colleagues impacted by recent events to seek support either via their local networks and organisations or through the Partnership’s Race Equality Network and West Yorkshire Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub.
Finally, if you have suffered racism at work, please do raise this internally with senior leaders. We appreciate that this can be difficult and if you are not getting the support you need, you are welcome to come directly to us to discuss your experiences.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Webster, CEO-Designate, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership
Fatima Khan-Shah, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Associate Director and Convenor of the Partnership’s Race Equality Network
Dr James Thomas, Chair, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Clinical Forum
