Hospital workers are ‘silent victims’ of discrimination
It seems like people may be suffering in silence and not being given a voice.
Dr Irfan Malik
A “worrying” majority of BAME workers operating at Nottingham University Hospitals have been discriminated against on grounds of their ethnicity, results from the latest NHS staff survey reveal.
The figures for 2020 show that up to 87 percent of the trust’s BAME staff who took part in the survey, have experienced discrimination in the workplace, surpassing national average of 84.6 percent.
The figures, published earlier this month, are based on the answers collected from 629 workers who operate at Nottingham University Hospitals.
A Nottingham GP has spoken out on the urgent need to support BAME workers who are disproportionately affected by discrimination despite their efforts in the past year due to the pandemic. the
Dr Irfan Malik, senior partner at Elmswood Surgery in Sherwood, has said that health staff with different ethnic backgrounds are ‘silent victims’ of discrimination in the workplace and called for action to be taken.
With a 30-year long experience in the health department, Dr Malik has voiced his concerns on the continuous targeting of BAME staff in hospitals during what is described as the most difficult year faced by the NHS in recent history.
“I would try to acknowledge that there is an issue and then try to work with BAME staff and find out how things can be improved for them.
“This is even more worrying as last year we saw more BAME people dying from Covid as well.
“So maybe these high figures give us an opportunity to talk about these problems and see what we can do to improve the situation for BAME staff.”
The Sherwood GP outlined the main reasons why BAME staff working in hospitals are more affected by discrimination than doctors and nurses operating in general practice.
“I think it is slightly different when you move into a senior position,” he explained.
“It is definitely harder for those in hospitals to reach out, because they are under a form of management, whereas the general practice is more independent.”
He added: “We manage smaller teams, and that gives me more freedom to address issues and speak out, whereas the hospital management structure, even senior clinicians there from ethnic minorities would be under some tighter management.”
While his experience as a health worker is ‘slightly different,’
TO SUPPORT BAME STAFF
Dr Malik says he is no stranger to discrimination and racism manifested in the workplace.
”When I was a junior doctor there were episodes of discrimination, but that was a long time ago,” Dr Malik recalls.
“Since coming into general practice I have not experienced any discrimination coming from co-workers and staff.
“Occasionally from patients, there were some episodes but very very few - and now I am involved in running the practice so it is a different environment compared to the ones working on a hospital ward or clinic.”
However, he stated that the figures should be an alarm signal to the management team - and a conversation opener about ways to tackle discrimination in the workplace. The Sherwood GP added: “I have been in the NHS for 30 years, and back in the days there were probably more episodes of discrimination that we could not do anything about.
“But I think now we live in a different time and culture and people should be able to raise their concerns - and management should respond to that as well.”
Discrimination as we know it might have just resurfaced in a moment when the healthcare workers’ wellbeing was already fragile, Dr Malik added.
“Sometimes the pandemic could make the situation even worse - for example deciding which staff should be shielding because BAME staff are at higher risk,” he said. “Most BAME staff will not be in senior positions - so how much representation is in BAME communities at a higher level? Because that
would help the culture of a NHS organisation.
“Looking at the survey it seems like people may be suffering in silence and not being given a voice.”
Health officials have addressed the issue in a statement to the Post.
Dr Neil Pease, chief people officer at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, said: “There is no place for discrimination in our organisation and we take this very seriously.
“We have been working hard over the years with our colleagues to improve the experiences of our staff and as part of that, we received comprehensive feedback - particularly from our BAME Staff Network about how we could improve as an inclusive employer.
“We continue to work closely with our BAME Staff Network and we have supported them in developing a three-year strategy to address key areas. We have also have a dedicated team in place to help the organisation to make these improvements.
“Some of our progress so far includes: strengthening the voice of the BAME Staff Network; ensuring that BAME colleagues employed within the trust are guaranteed an interview when they meet the essential criteria for roles within the Trust; increasing the number of BAME representatives on interview panels; increasing the number of BAME colleagues within senior posts and setting up a mentoring scheme for BAME colleagues to access.”
David Kirwan, operational manager for the Royal College of Nursing in the East Midlands, added: “Discrimination is unacceptable and it must be challenged robustly wherever and whenever it happens.
“While this trust is not an outlier compared to similar NHS organisations in terms of how many staff have experienced discrimination, one episode of someone being discriminated against is one too many.
“It’s a concern that a higher proportion of staff in both organisations are saying they experienced discrimination based on their ethnic background than in the previous year’s survey, so we would expect this to inform the trusts’ action plans to address this issue and ensure all staff are treated fairly.”