Trust leadership criticised for ‘nepotism’ and disinterest in race discrimination

Staff at a struggling trust believe that executives do not take racial discrimination seriously enough and that “nepotism is rife”, according to an external review. 

The review studied the recruitment and career progression of Black, Asian and ethnic minority staff at Milton Keynes University Hospital Trust. It was commissioned by CEO Joe Harrison following the publication of the annual NHS staff survey in March 2024.

This found that 11.4% of MKUH staff had faced discrimination, compared to the national average of 8.09%. Of those, 69.86% had faced discrimination on racial grounds. The national average was 51.77%.

The review was carried out in July last year, and the trust refused requests from HSJ to share its findings. These were finally revealed when it was discussed at a trust board meeting last week. A second report into the lived experience of minority ethnic staff is still being withheld by the trust.

Other findings from the report included the belief among BAME staff that “the pace of improvement” on tackling racial discrimination was too slow and that they did not have equal career progression opportunities.

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Source: HSJ, 18 July 2025