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A
report has highlighted that racism is a problem for ethnic minority
staff working in Norfolk's NHS. The study, by the Racial Equality
Council (REC), found 85% of visible ethnic minority staff felt racism
was a problem, a view shared by 60% of white colleagues.
The study also found that ethnic minority staff felt that they
were less likely to be promoted than their white colleagues.
One third believed that their colour or race had affected their
access to opportunites within NHS in Norfolk.
The provision of services to ethnic minority patients is also
criticised. A lack of awareness by health practioners about
the need to provide equal treatment is highlighted. Even when
practitioners were aware of relevant services, bad practice
was often cited.
A
third of practitioners were not aware that interpreters were
available, often using other staff or members of families to
interpret.
Shushila Patel,
speaking on behalf of the Commission for Racial Equality, spoke
about the implications of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act which
came into force last month: "The CRE is now preparing a draft
Code of Practice outlining how the duty to work for racial equality
will work across the health service," she said.
Respondents felt that scarcity of ethnic minority communities
in the county has often been used as an excuse for disregarding
different cultural and language needs.
The reports authors, the Racial Equality Council, Unison and a
number of NHS organisations in Norfolk, have recommended the following
strategies:
| Tackling
racism using the Norfolk Multi-Agency Approach and agreed
racist incident recording forms. |
| Improving
race equality awareness and best practice. |
| Providing
training for staff and guidance on how to deal with racist
incidents. |
| Auditing
all employment practices. |
| Raising
confidence amongst ethnic minority staff that effective
action will be taken to deal with racism. |
David Walker, Chief Executive of Norfolk Health Authority, responded
positively to the call for future action: "Chairs, Chief
Executives and Boards of local NHS bodies should now publicly
commit themselves to a continuous programme of action which will
lead to the eradication of racism in the NHS," he said.
John Vinookumar, Chairperson of the Norwich and Norfolk Racial
Equality Council, said: "I have worked for over 30 years in the
field of health, I have witnessed and listened to other people's
experiences of racism. This report vindicates these experiences
and provides the evidence for action at the local level."
Relevant pages on Multi-Ethnic Norfolk:
Introduction to Norwich & Norfolk Racial
Equality Council
Meet the Community Race Development Officer
for Norfolk |
