Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Discrimination'.
-
Content Article
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) commissioned this research to help inform a consistent and appropriate approach by the regulators and registers towards the various types of discrimination in health and care. The research was undertaken to help PSA understand better the views of the public and service users on the following key questions: What constitutes discriminatory behaviour in the context of health and care? What impact discriminatory behaviour may have on both public safety and confidence? Through looking at these two areas, the research also drew out views from participants on how health and care professional regulators should respond to different types of discriminatory behaviour.- Posted
-
- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
This improvement plan sets out targeted actions to address the prejudice and discrimination – direct and indirect – that exists through behaviour, policies, practices and cultures against certain groups and individuals across the NHS workforce. It has been co-produced through engagement with staff networks and senior leaders.- Posted
-
- Discrimination
- Health inequalities
- (and 7 more)
-
News Article
A trust has been told to not “shut down” staff who raise concerns by a former employee whom a tribunal found was racially discriminated against. Moorfields Eye Hospital Foundation Trust racially discriminated, victimised and harassed Samiriah Shaikh, who worked at the trust as an ophthalmic technician, according to a recent judgment. Judges said Ms Shaikh was described as “aggressive” by her boss Peter Holm, and stereotyped by managers as a “loud ethnic female” after she and fellow colleagues raised allegations of racism in the promotion of in-house staff. Mr Holm, who is listed as a chief ophthalmic and vision science practitioner at the trust, is said to have responded to staff members’ concerns by making jokes during a team meeting. It is unclear whether he is still at the trust. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 June 2023- Posted
-
- Discrimination
- Race
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
News Article
All NHS board members to get equality objectives
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Trusts and systems must draw up plans to improve the diversity of their executive and senior leadership teams over the next 12 months, and evidence progress against them by summer 2025, NHS England has announced. A new equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) improvement plan also says every board and executive team member will have EDI objectives they will be assessed against during annual appraisals by spring 2024. The targets form part of six “high impact actions,” each with set targets that aim to address the “widely known intersectional impacts of discrimination and bias” within the NHS. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 June 2023- Posted
-
- Board member
- Health inequalities
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
News Article
Patients may be found guilty of discrimination if they refuse the care of a transgender medic, according to new NHS guidance. Health bosses have been warned that patients have no right to be told a healthcare worker’s assigned sex at birth. However, transgender health workers can choose not to treat patients if they feel uncomfortable doing so, the report by NHS Confederation says. The report, published earlier this month in partnership with the LGBT Foundation, says patients can only request care from a same-sex staff member in limited circumstances, such as if they are having an intimate examination. It states that when a patient requests an employee administering care to be a woman or a man, “the comfort of the staff member should be prioritised”. Read full story Source: Telegraph, 9 June 2023- Posted
-
- Discrimination
- LGBTQI
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Content Article
The Women's Health Strategy for England was developed and published in 2022 in response to the growing recognition of the unique health needs and challenges faced by women in England (and the U.K.) and was brought forward to address longstanding gaps in women's healthcare and to promote better health outcomes for women across the country. This Forbes article looks at why women’s health should be included in every government’s agenda. The author speaks to Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women's Health Ambassador for England about the progress of the strategy and Dr. Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists about the need to ensure underrepresented groups are included in the strategy.- Posted
-
- Womens health
- UK
- (and 4 more)
-
News Article
Two new healthcare workforce surveys outline widespread reports of discrimination, racism and workplace violence in the USA perpetuated by patients and coworkers alike. Among the findings were acknowledgments from respondents that incidents of discrimination are rarely reported to management or law enforcement. Additionally, more than half of the respondents to one survey said that they believed that incidents of workplace violence have increased over the course of their tenure, while nearly half of the nurses who responded to the other survey said they believe “a culture of racism/discrimination” was present as early as in nursing school. “If we are to truly provide just and equitable care to our patients, we as nurses must hold ourselves accountable for our own behavior and work to change the systems that perpetuate racism and other forms of discrimination,” said Beth Toner, RN, director of program communications at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Read full story Source: Fierce Healthcare, 2 June 2023- Posted
-
- Discrimination
- Race
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
News Article
Florida doctors can soon deny patient care based on personal, religious beliefs
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A controversial new Florida bill will allow physicians to opt out of performing certain services because of "sincerely held" religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. The bill, part of a "medical freedom" legislative package signed last week, permits healthcare providers to make conscience-based objections to providing medical care and protects them from getting sued or losing their licenses. Critics say the new law could exacerbate health disparities and lead to discrimination against certain groups of patients, including LGBTQ+ individuals and women seeking reproductive healthcare. Psychologists could refuse to treat someone for gender dysphoria, for example. Doctors could refuse to prescribe birth control, administer childhood vaccines, or accept patients with state insurance. Kenneth W. Goodman, professor and director of the University of Miami's Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, told Medscape Medical News the legislation could upset a longstanding precedent. "To deny care based on unspecified and unarticulated 'moral, ethical, or religious reasons' opens the door to neglect, abandonment, and suspicion," Goodman said. "It undermines two millennia of a cornerstone of medical ethics: take care of your patients — no matter who they are." Read full story Source: Medscape, 18 May 2023 -
Content Article
Institutional racism within the United Kingdom's (UK) Higher Education (HE) sector, particularly nurse and midwifery education, has lacked empirical research, critical scrutiny, and serious discussion. This paper focuses on the racialised experiences of nurses and midwives during their education in UK universities, including their practice placements. It explores the emotional, physical, and psychological impacts of these experiences. The study concludes that the endemic culture of racism in nurse and midwifery education is a fundamental factor that must be recognised and called out. The study argues that universities and health care trusts need to be accountable for preparing all students to challenge racism and provide equitable learning opportunities that cover the objectives to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements to avoid significant experiences of exclusion and intimidation. -
Content Article
This guide aims to help health and social care workers provide dementia care, which corresponds to the needs and wishes of people from a wide range of ethnic groups, especially minority ethnic groups.- Posted
-
- Dementia
- Communication
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
The latest NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) data shows that it is still over twenty times more likely that a White Band 5 nurse will become a Director of Nursing compared to a Band 5 BME nurse. In this letter Roger Kline, Research Fellow at Middlesex University Business School, outlines his concerns about discrimination and bullying taking place within the NHS. Addressed to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay, the letter recalls the findings of the Messenger report commissioned by Mr Barclay's predecessor Sajid Javid, which found that “acceptance of discrimination, bullying, blame cultures and responsibility avoidance has almost become normalised in certain parts of the system, as evidenced by staff surveys and several publicised examples of poor practice." Referring to recent calls to reduce spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), he outlines why patient care and frontline services cannot be detached from efforts to improve EDI. He argues that research strongly suggests how staff are treated (including whether they face discrimination) impacts on patient care, staff well-being and organisational effectiveness.- Posted
-
- Organisational culture
- Diversity
- (and 5 more)
-
News Article
NHS treatment algorithms ‘not taking transgender patients into account’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A host of algorithms used by medics to assess disease risk and help make decisions on treatment are failing to take transgender patients into account, doctors have said. Many metrics and thresholds in medicine, including ideal body weight, alcohol clearance rates, kidney function and risk of cardiovascular disease vary by gender. A team of UK doctors and medical students have issued a warning over a lack of evidence as to whether trans patients should be considered for these gender-based scores according to their gender assigned at birth or the gender they have transitioned to – or whether alternative scores are required. In an effort to tackle the issue, the team have launched a research initiative called Trans Gap Project. Dr Michael Niman, a junior NHS doctor and chair of the project, said: “Currently, daily medical decisions involving gender-based scores have limited to no research for the trans community. This means that trans patients are often forgotten about or not considered in the medical world, leading to a significant gap in their access to appropriate medical care.” “When scores that haven’t considered trans people are used, patient autonomy is impaired for trans and gender-diverse patients, as they can’t make true informed decisions on their care – which is one of the bioethic pillars,” Niman said. In some cases, there could be safety concerns. “Clinicians are currently faced with uncertainty regarding the best clinical practice to address these scenarios, owing to a lack of evidence-based guidance,” Niman said. “It is vital clinicians take a vested interest in the research of gender-based scores for the trans community due to the importance of safe practice considerations within the NHS.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 May 2023- Posted
-
- Treatment
- Health inequalities
- (and 4 more)
-
Content Article
When something goes wrong in health or care, patients need to understand their rights to complain and seek resolution. The Equality Advisory Support Service Helpline (EASS) supports individuals who wish to achieve an informal resolution when they feel they have experienced discrimination or want to understand their human rights. This article, written by the EASS for The Patients Association, explains an individual's rights under the Equality Act 2010 and what to do if you believe they’ve been violated.- Posted
-
- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with:
-
News Article
Discrimination ‘biggest cause of staff leaving’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Discrimination and inequality are bigger factors for staff wanting to leave acute trusts than burnout, new analysis of this year’s NHS staff survey has found. Researchers at LCP compared 12 summary indicators within the survey to answers on intention to leave, to build a “relative importance model” to explain “nearly 85% of the variation in intention to leave”. LCP said: “Approximately 30 per cent of that explained variance is attributable to the diversity and equality score (compared to less than 10 per cent attributable to the burnout summary indicator score).” Natalie Tikhonovsky, an analyst in LCP’s Health Analytics team, said: “Our analysis reveals a grim picture of low satisfaction levels and higher staff turnover rates currently facing the NHS acute sector. Understanding what is driving this will be key to the success of the government’s new workforce plan and to the overall aim of reducing steadily increasing wait lists.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 28 April 2023- Posted
-
- Discrimination
- Lack of resources
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
Content Article
This new report from the British Red Cross describes how asylum seekers struggle to access the internet and lack digital tools. The British Red Cross explained that the report aims to improve understanding of the experiences of digital exclusion among people seeking asylum, and how these experiences may impact access to, and experience of, healthcare. Researchers conducted interviews with 30 people currently seeking asylum across England for the report. The researchers themselves also had lived experience of seeking asylum.- Posted
-
- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
- (and 4 more)
-
Content Article
The COVID-19 Recovery Committee has published its report on Long Covid and post-Covid syndrome, urging the Scottish Government to take action to address the stigma surrounding the condition and improve awareness among the public and healthcare professionals. The inquiry focussed on the awareness and recognition, therapy and rehabilitation, and study and research linked to Long Covid, with the Committee noting “concern” in their findings over reports of patients being unable to get the correct diagnosis and the lack of treatment for common conditions associated with the condition. The Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn about the stigma faced by those with lived and living experience of Long Covid, and the report highlights the impact that the lack of awareness and recognition of Long Covid can have on those with the condition.- Posted
-
- Long Covid
- Pandemic
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
This BMJ Leader article from Roger Kline looks at how to tackle structural racism in the NHS, discussing psychological safety and inclusion, and the role leaders need to play.- Posted
-
- Race
- Discrimination
- (and 5 more)
-
News Article
End racial disparities in maternal deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An MPs' report is calling for faster progress to tackle "appalling" higher death rates for black women and those from poorer areas in childbirth. The Women and Equalities Committee report says racism has played a key role in creating health disparities. But the many complex causes are "still not fully understood" and more funding and maternity staff are also needed. The NHS in England said it was committed to making maternity care safer for all women. The government said it had invested £165m in the maternity workforce and was promoting careers in midwifery, with an extra 3,650 training places a year. Black women are nearly four times more likely than white women to die within six weeks of giving birth, with Asian women 1.8 times more likely, according to UK figures for 2018-20. And women from the poorest areas of the country, where a higher proportion of babies belonging to ethnic minorities are born, the report says, are two and a half times more likely to die than those from the richest. Caroline Nokes, who chairs the committee, said births on the NHS "are among the safest in the world" but black women's raised risk was "shocking" and improvements in disparities between different groups were too slow. "It is frankly shameful that we have known about these disparities for at least 20 years - it cannot take another 20 to resolve," she added.- Posted
-
- Health Disparities
- Health inequalities
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are all too aware of the urgent health inequalities that plague our world. But these inequalities have always been urgent: modern medicine has a colonial and racist history. Here, in an essential and searingly truthful account, Annabel Sowemimo unravels the colonial roots of modern medicine. Tackling systemic racism, hidden histories and healthcare myths, Sowemimo recounts her own experiences as a doctor, patient and activist. Divided exposes the racial biases of medicine that affect our everyday lives and provides an illuminating - and incredibly necessary - insight into how our world works, and who it works for.- Posted
-
- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
Cervical cancer disparities persist for Black women despite targeted efforts. Reasons for this vary; one potential factor affecting screening and prevention is perceived discrimination in medical settings. This US study in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities aimed to describe experiences of perceived discrimination in medical settings for Black women and to explore the impact on cervical cancer screening and prevention. The authors concluded that Black women engaging in healthcare are experiencing perceived discrimination in medical settings. They suggest that future interventions should address the poor quality of medical encounters that Black women experience.- Posted
-
- Womens health
- Race
- (and 6 more)
-
Content Article
A just and learning culture is the balance of fairness, justice, learning–and taking responsibility for actions. It is not about seeking to blame the individuals involved when care in the NHS goes wrong, nor the absence of responsibility and accountability. This report by NHS Resolution aims to promote the value of a person-centred workplace that is compassionate, safe and fair.- Posted
-
- Workforce management
- Staff safety
- (and 7 more)
-
News Article
Whistleblowers ‘frustrated and disappointed’ by CQC, review finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Care Quality Commission’s follow-up of whistleblowing concerns from health and care staff has been poor and inconsistent, and there is a “widespread lack of competence and confidence” on dealing with race and racism at the organisation, two reviews have found. A “Listening, learning, responding to concerns” review was published by the Care Quality Commission, alongside a linked independent review into how the regulator failed Shyam Kumar, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the North West, who was also a CQC specialist professional adviser. The wider review looked at a range of issues including how the CQC deals with racism; how well it listens to whistleblowers in providers; and how it deals with its own staff, including as part of a recent restructure, and its internal “Freedom to Speak Up” process. It followed concerns bring raised, in addition to Mr Kumar’s case, about these issues. Scott Durairaj, a CQC director who joined it last year and led the review work along with a panel of advisers, reported there was “clear evidence, during the scoping, design phase and throughout the review, of a widespread lack of competence and confidence within CQC in understanding, identifying and writing about race and racism”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 29 March 2023- Posted
-
- Whistleblowing
- Speaking up
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with:
-
Content Article
The concerns that health and care workers and the public share with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about health and care services are critical to its work. It is also vital that CQC listens to its own staff. This review explores whether there are areas of culture or process within CQC that need to be improved in relation to listening, learning, and responding to concerns. The review focused on these key areas: Organisational findings Reviewing how well we listen to whistleblowing concerns. Reviewing our Freedom to Speak Up policy. Learning from the tribunal case. Reviewing how we listen to our staff. Reviewing the expectations and experiences of people who raise concerns with us.- Posted
-
- Speaking up
- Whistleblowing
- (and 7 more)
-
News Article
‘Deliberate attempts’ to conceal racism at NHS agency, says leaked report
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Deliberate attempts were made to “conceal the extent of racial discrimination” at a national NHS agency, according to a report leaked to HSJ. A highly critical internal report at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) also said fewer than half the recommendations made in 2020 by external mediation experts, around issues of racism, had so far been actioned. A review conducted by Globis Mediation Group in 2020 found “systemic racism” among management at the agency’s large Colindale site in north London, with ethnic minority staff being “ignored, being viewed as ineligible for promotion and enduring low levels of empathy”. It made nine recommendations, including exploring whether similar issues existed at the other 15 NHSBT sites. Read full story Source: HSJ, 16 March 2023- Posted
-
- Race
- Discrimination
- (and 4 more)
-
News Article
Trust CEO apologises to staff subjected to racist behaviour
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A chief executive has apologised after a survey of his trust’s staff from minority ethnic backgrounds found many had been subjected to racist behaviour by colleagues. The staff at East of England Ambulance Service Trust said peers had made monkey noises and referred to banana boats in front of them, excluded them from social events, and assumed they could speak Middle Eastern and Asian languages just because of their skin colour, they told researchers. The trust has had substantial cultural problems for several years, and commissioned the survey to “better understand the experience, perceptions and realities of the trust BME staff”, a board paper said. The report on its findings, published this week in trust board papers, warns: “There are risks that a minority of EEAST employees are demonstrating behaviours or using language which could be perceived as racist. Reports of subsequent inaction by managers further risk this behaviour being normalised.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 March 2023- Posted
-
- Race
- Discrimination
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with: