DR CHAAND NAGPAUL has faced racism and fought racism. His run-ins with the National Front as a child in Britain’s 1970s. Nagpaul’s need to fight to get into medical school. The decision to serve his community by become a general practitioner. These all shaped his outlook on life and led to his successes, professionally and personally.
The former chair of the British Medical Association was the first person of colour to lead the doctors’ union in its almost 200-year history. Nagpaul showed exceptional leadership during the pandemic. Today, he remains just as influential, and his battle for equality appears even more pronounced.
“I concluded my tenure as BMA Council chair in 2022. Since then, I continued to chair the BMA’s Forum for Race and Ethnic Equality,” he told the GG2 Power List.
“The reason for that is I feel very strongly that we need to have an NHS that practises its principles of fairness and equity for its own workforce, and we continue to see huge inequalities and disparities of experience of ethnic minority doctors in our health service who suffer disadvantage compared to their white counterparts. And I'm continuing to campaign fight for those inequalities to be addressed.”
With over 40 per cent of NHS doctors from ethnic minorities, he warned that discrimination remains a persistent issue. He argued that the UK should celebrate the contributions of overseas doctors rather than undervalue them.
“Racism in the NHS is actually affecting patient care. You know, it’s resulted in significant numbers of ethnic minority doctors leaving the NHS, it’s resulting in high levels of sickness and absence due to experiences of bullying, harassment and discrimination. And it also means that you're not able to bring out the best of each healthcare professional,” he said.
“So, this is not just an issue of inequality, it is an issue of patient care and service provision. Statistics, such as doctors of ethnic minorities being referred to their regulator at twice the rate of their white colleagues, is an example of the scale of employment related poor experiences that minority doctors face.”
But Nagpaul does not just focus on racial disparities. He used his previous position to question the government’s health policy, writing letters to health secretaries warning them of severe underfunding in the NHS and the consequences.
Asked what he would say to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, Nagpaul responded, “He needs to be advising Keir Starmer that we need to once and for all to repair the infrastructure deficit of the NHS. I think it's the cause of shame that in the UK we put up with a system where we have one-third of hospital beds of a country like Germany, where we have a system where in other countries there are more doctors per capita.
“This isn't about putting more money in the NHS. This is about kitting up the NHS with the level of infrastructure that is considered the norm in other countries and is needed in order to service that the health needs of the population.”
Nagpaul spoke to the GG2 Power List the day after the prime minister’s latest plans for the NHS. Any money into the NHS is to be welcomed, he said, but it would not touch the problems doctors and patients face today. That problem is the 7.5 million patients waiting for treatment. It is, said Nagpaul, a problem is deeper than mere efficiency tweaks.
“As a GP, I can tell you, many patients who are discharged because of the pressures in hospitals are often readmitted because of lack of care in the community. The other side of the equation, which often isn't talked about, is that there's a large number of patients who are admitted to hospital, because of inadequate levels of care in their homes. So, in fact many patients end up quite unwell,” he said.
“So, we really need to get social care sorted today, leave aside the fact that we need a review as well, but we do need to address that today if we are to be able to manage patients in the community to a level which reduces pressure in hospitals.”
That connection with his different communities is why Nagpaul returned to his GP’s practice. “I'm a strong passionate advocate of general practice,” he said. “I fought to be a GP 35 years ago when I joined my practice in north London, and I'm still practising in the same practice 35 years on. What I've been doing over the last year in particular is representing GPs across northwest London that covers 2 million patients in terms of fighting for improvements and get support for GP practices to deliver the care they want to deliver for patients.”
He does that by chairing the northwest London Local Medical Committee's network, a collection of representative bodies on the northwest London Integrated Care Board.
This year, he is turning his attention to the mental health crisis among healthcare workers, as the incoming co-chair of Doctors in Distress.
“I joined Doctors in Distress because mental health among NHS staff is a silent crisis,” he said. “A doctor in the UK takes their own life every three weeks. A nurse dies by suicide every two weeks. These figures are horrifying. The NHS expects its workforce to be resilient, but doctors and nurses are human too. We must create compassionate workplaces that support their mental health.”
Doctors in Distress offers free, confidential peer-support sessions for struggling healthcare professionals. “These sessions provide a safe space for people to share their struggles,” he explained. “I want to raise awareness of the impact mental distress has on patient care. A doctor under severe stress is more likely to make mistakes. We need a motivated, happy workforce to deliver the best care. I am determined to make that happen.”
Outside his advocacy work, Nagpaul finds solace in music. “Music is my escape,” he revealed. “I have over 1,000 vinyl records and listen to everything from Miles Davis to Indian fusion. If I’m feeling stressed, I turn up the volume and let it take me away. Socialising is also important. I love meeting people, having conversations, and unwinding over dinner.”
Nagpaul’s mission remains clear: to fight for fairness in the NHS, champion the rights of ethnic minority doctors, and ensure that healthcare professionals get the support they need. "This is not just about policy,” he said, “it’s about people’s lives. And I won’t stop fighting until we see real change.”
