Discrimination against black and minority ethnic staff within the NHS is widespread, deep-rooted, systemic and largely unchanging

The NHS is England’s largest employer of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff. There are some 190,000 BME staff (one in six). 19.7% of England’s NHS nurses and 37% of doctors are of BME origin. There is a growing body of evidence linking the treatment of BME staff and their representation within healthcare management and governance to the patient experience and outcomes. The under-representation of BME staff at senior level, and their treatment throughout the NHS are not simply employment issues. “The ‘snowy white peaks’ of the NHS” examines whether BME representation within the governance and leadership of the NHS reflects either the proportion of BME staff employed or the proportion of BME people in the wider population. [...