- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
THERE has been a decrease in women and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds in key roles at NHS trusts, states a new report, leading to questions being raised into the NHS’ commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The report by the NHS Confederation, which represents 85 per cent of local health service bodies in England, was released on Thursday (6) and it has called for a review of the current appointments process. The percentage of chairs and non-executives of NHS Trusts from a BME background has nearly halved in the last decade, from 15 per cent in April 2010 to 8 per cent today, findings show.
The widening gaps in female and BAME representation has been blamed on the abolition in 2012 of the NHS Appointments Commission and the creation of foundation trusts in the mid-2000s.
Joan Saddler, Director of Partnerships and Equality at the NHS Confederation and co-chair of the NHS Equality and Diversity Council, called the report a “wake-up call” for the NHS.
Saddler said: “We support the autonomy of foundation trusts but we must find a way of developing inclusive top teams that provide example and leadership, and set expectations throughout their organisations.
“Chairs and non-executives heading NHS organisations must be accountable to and representative of the communities they serve and the staff for whom they are responsible. It is about fairness but also simply about good governance and improving the quality of patient care and engagement – and it needs to start at the top.”
Danielle Oum, chair of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and co-chair of the NHS Confederation’s BME Leadership Network, said diversity on boards was important for the avoidance of group think.
“It’s particularly key for the NHS due to the make-up of its workforce and the population it serves,” said Oum.
“History has shown that when there is structural change in the NHS, diversity of leadership reduces – we need to avoid that legacy in the development of integrated care organisations and associated reconfigurations.”
Ifti Majid, chief executive of Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and co-chair of the BME Leadership Network, said: “At the heart of the role of boards is improving health outcomes for local people and we know boards that are representative of local communities are more able to achieve that.
“Having the confidence of local people is essential to this task and if local people don’t recognise their views, beliefs and cultures around our board tables that confidence will not form.”
