Health Management and Policy Alert

Racism and discrimination: the experience of primary care professionals in the Humberside region

Humberside LMCs - 
This report highlights discrimination faced by staff and patients from ethnic minority backgrounds in general practice. It finds that respondents reported experiences of discrimination in a wide range of areas such as training, working patterns and complaints and it calls for a zero tolerance approach to tackle racism in all its forms. 

• Report
• Press release

Covid-19 and the female health and care workforce survey update

NHS Confederation - 
This report presents the findings of a survey commissioned by the network to find out how the impact of the pandemic on women working across health and care changed as the crisis progressed. It finds that since summer 2020, the impact of the pandemic on the female workforce has demonstrably worsened and more women are reporting an even greater negative impact on their physical and emotional wellbeing.

• Report
• Press release

Women's Health Strategy: call for evidence

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) -

The DHSC is seeking views to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. This call for evidence will run for a period of twelve weeks and is open to everyone aged 16 and over. The easiest way to participate in the call for evidence as an individual is by completing the public survey. Submissions are also sought from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 30 May 2021.

• Call for evidence
• More detail

Black, Asian and minority ethnic views on the Covid-19 vaccine

Healthwatch Camden - 

In February, Healthwatch Camden worked with three local community organisations to survey 223 people about their views on the Covid-19 vaccine and the local rollout. Nearly all responders (97 per cent) were from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds. Amongst the findings were: the more knowledge someone felt they had about the vaccine, the greater the likelihood of them wanting to be vaccinated; people receive most of the information about the vaccine from television and social media; and younger people and people from Black or Black British backgrounds were less likely to get the vaccine, which is consistent with existing national evidence on this topic.

• Report
• More detail

Unequal impact? coronavirus, disability and access to services: Government response to the Committee’s fourth report

House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee -
The Committee published the original report in December 2020 and this is the Government response. It replies to the recommendations on food accessibility, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the impacts on health and social care and education among others. It also outlines plans for the National Strategy for Disabled Strategy, to be published in spring 2021.

• Report
• Women and Equalities Committee - press release

Crisis, communities, change: demands for an equitable recovery

Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) - 

This report explores how communities have fared during the pandemic. The survey of 2,600 people in Great Britain, including a weighted sample of 1,000 people from ethnic minority backgrounds, was carried out by Savanta ComRes for the RSA. Amongst the findings was that discrimination in local services was twice as high among ethnic minorities: 52 per cent of Asian and 50 per cent of Black respondents have faced discrimination when accessing local services – compared to 19 per cent of the white population. The data suggests that institutional distrust because of discrimination may play a role in vaccine hesitancy.

• Report
• Press release

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: the report

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities -
This report includes a chapter on health which looks at life expectancy, cancer, diabetes, obesity, maternal mortality as well as access to health care, Covid-19 and more.

• Report
• Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities - publications

Ethnic diversity in fertility treatment 2018

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) - 
This report looks at how access to, and outcomes of fertility treatment, differed by ethnic group between 2014 and 2018. It finds disparities in the experience of patients from ethnic minority backgrounds and makes recommendations for the HFEA, fertility clinics and commissioners to help better understand the root of these inequalities so that action can be taken to improve access and outcomes for ethnic minority groups.

• Report

The Royal College – our professional home: an independent review on diversity and inclusion for the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Royal College of Surgeons of England -
This report sets out a sixteen-point plan for improving diversity within surgery and Royal College of Surgeons of England. It follows an independent review of diversity in the College’s professional leadership conducted by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. The report highlights some of the College’s strengths in fostering a diverse surgical community, including the Women in Surgery Network and the Lady Estelle Wolfson Emerging Leaders Fellowship. However, it also includes personal accounts of the discrimination surgeons face in their day-to-day practice and interactions with the College.

• Report
• Royal College of Surgeons of England - news

Workforce Race Equality Standard: 2020 data analysis report for NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups

NHS England -
This report enables organisations to compare their performance with others in their region and those providing similar services, with the aim of encouraging improvement by learning and sharing good practice. The report hopes to provide a national picture of WRES in practice, to colleagues, organisations and the public on the developments in the workforce race equality agenda.

• Report
• NHS England - publications