Addressing racist parents in a paediatric setting: the nuance of zero tolerance policies (BMJ, 13 December 2021)

Summary

Healthcare professionals need clearer guidance on responding to racism in paediatric settings, argue Zeshan Qureshi and colleagues.

Content

Everyone has a right to healthcare, but on occasion this can conflict with the right of healthcare professionals to dignity in the workplace. One example is when a patient refuses the care of a healthcare professional on the grounds of race. This is an experience that many doctors from an ethnic minority background have faced.

When an adult seeks care for themselves, it can be argued that although access to healthcare is a right, it comes with responsibilities. If these are breached by imposing racial conditionality on receiving care, healthcare professionals and organisations can refuse to treat them, as recently stated by the UK government and other professional bodies.

Despite this mandate, there are nuanced questions that remain unanswered. What should be done, for example, when a parent imposes racial conditionality on care for their child? Children are not morally complicit in their parents’ actions, so why should their care be compromised?

The NHS lacks clear protocols for responding to and reporting racism in paediatric settings, particularly when it can compromise care. We look at how the rights of staff, parents, and children can conflict with each other when parents impose racial conditionality on the care provider for their children and suggest the key principles that healthcare professionals and organisations should follow in response.