Discrimination by appointment: how black and minority ethnic applicants are disadvantaged in NHS staff recruitment

Black and minority ethnic applicants for positions in the National Health Service in England are significantly less likely to be appointed than white applicants, our research data suggest. Our research indicates there has been little improvement over the past five years. Even more worrying is that appointments to management positions in NHS England, the new agency now running NHS, are even more racially skewed, according to our analysis of their own data. We urge NHS trusts to engage in discussion with their staff about what is going on, and to develop action plans to tackle it. (2013