Maternity staff faced racism from colleagues
Maternity staff at an NHS trust faced racism from their own colleagues, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said. The problem was identified at both the Luton and Dunstable (L&D) and Bedford hospitals during an inspection.
Some ethnic minority overseas staff told the CQC discrimination had become "normalised".
The regulator was alerted to concerns around the safety, culture, and management of the service by whistleblowers.
On the first day of the inspection, last November, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital's maternity unit was at full capacity and the trust had to divert new arrivals.
Low staffing levels also meant women and babies were not always kept safe.
The trust was issued with a warning to improve and maternity services at both hospitals have now both been rated as 'inadequate'.
At the L&D some staff told the inspectors they did not feel able to report instances of racism.
Management acknowledged some parts of the unit had a "challenging culture". There were concerns racist incidents being reported to the trust would not be investigated in line with the trust’s values.
Source: BBC News, 5 July 2024