Race watchdog says trusts must be held to account for progress on health inequalities

Efforts to end health inequalities should be ‘in the mix’ of metrics used to determine the NHS’ progress against key performance targets, say race inequality experts.

In an exclusive interview with HSJ, NHS Race and Health Observatory (RHO) director Habib Naqvi said organisations’ performance on the issue should be scrutinised by an external body to ensure they are held accountable and “not marking their own exam answer”.

It comes as the RHO publishes a report that warns the appointment of health inequalities leads across the NHS risks becoming “tokenistic” if they are not adequately supported and held accountable.

The report by The King’s Fund think tank has recommended several actions to prevent the introduction of board-level leads from becoming a “hollow gesture”.

In August 2020, NHS England asked all NHS organisations to have a named executive board member responsible for tackling inequalities by October that year. The RHO estimates there to be more than 450 of these named leads across the country.

The report welcomed this but added “frameworks” of support and accountability should exist to “empower individuals and motivate change”.

The recommendations include putting inequalities on an “equal footing” with key performance metrics, as well as a long-term policy focus that puts addressing inequalities “at the heart of system development”.

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Source: HSJ, 1 December 2021