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Inequality between NHS staff groups is persisting or getting worse, with a rise in reported discrimination across race, gender, disability status, and religion, research has found.
The analysis1 by the Nuffield Trust, published on 8 November, found that the
pandemic had disproportionately affected some staff such as those from minority ethnic backgrounds. But it said the NHS lacks the tools to fully understand or tackle deep disparities which are bad for patient care, workforce retention, and recruitment.
It reported that discrimination and other forms of unfair treatment are “evident at every stage of the career pipeline,” despite efforts over years to identify and eradicate them.
Ethnic groups are being “lumped together” as a category when more nuanced data and analysis are needed to recognise how many different specific groups can be subject to exclusion, it added.
The report, commissioned by NHS Employers, highlighted limited progress made by national policies, procedures, and training and called for more emphasis on improving culture and collective engagement, backed with extra resources and evaluation of local schemes.
Its co-author, Nuffield Trust senior policy fellow William Palmer, said progress...