COVID: ‘It has highlighted racism and bias’

“We’ve seen that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to get Covid and more likely to have a poorer outcome and essentially die from it.

“But Covid doesn’t affect Black people or Asian people differently because of genetics. The reasons are multifactorial and complex. For example, stats have highlighted that people from certain ethnic groups are more likely to have a chronic disease, and are more likely to be living in poverty, putting them at higher risk. Therefore, they’re more likely to suffer badly after contracting Covid.

“It’s important to admit that this is highlighting systemic bias and racism within our institutions. Systemic racism also affects the way people interact with the NHS.

“Public Health England’s investigation into the disparities in risk and outcomes discovered what many of us already knew – that some ethnic minority groups had a lack of trust in NHS services and treatment, and this resulted in their reluctance to seek care in good time. Fear of how they’d be treated in hospital led to late presentation, which led to poorer outcomes.

“We’ve also seen that a huge percentage of healthcare professionals who have died of Covid are from ethnic minorities.

“Surveys have shown it’s because those doctors are less likely to complain if put at risk. They’re less likely to demand proper PPE or ask to work on non-covid wards. Could this be linked to the evidence showing that NHS staff from an ethnic minority are more likely to be subject to a disciplinary process?”