Radical action needed to tackle racial health inequality in NHS, says damning report
Radical action is needed urgently to tackle “overwhelming” minority ethnic health inequalities in the NHS, leading experts have said, after a damning study found the “vast” and “widespread” inequity in every aspect of healthcare it reviewed was harming the health of millions of patients.
Racism, racial discrimination, barriers to accessing healthcare and woeful ethnicity data collection have “negatively impacted” the health of black, Asian and minority ethnic people in England for years, according to the review, commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, which reveals the true scale of health inequalities faced by ethnic minorities for the first time.
“Ethnic inequalities in health outcomes are evident at every stage throughout the life course, from birth to death,” says the review, the largest of its kind. Yet despite “clear”, “convincing” and “persistent” evidence that ethnic minorities are being failed, and repeated pledges of action, no “significant change” has yet been made in the NHS, it adds.
From mental health to maternity care, the sweeping review led by the University of Manchester paints a devastating picture of a healthcare system still failing minority ethnic patients despite concerns previously raised about the harm being caused.
“By drawing together the evidence, and plugging the gaps where we find them, we have made a clear and overwhelming case for radical action on race inequity in our healthcare system,” said Habib Naqvi, the director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, an independent body established by the NHS in 2020 to investigate health inequalities in England.
Source: The Guardian, 13 February 2022