Black nurses ‘targeted’ to deny them promotion

Leading nurse Neomi Bennett accuses NHS of institutional racism, in interview with the Micah McLean Talks YouTube podcast

Nurse Neomi Bennett is campaigning against racism in the NHS

A LEADING nurse Neomi Bennett has accused NHS managers of targeting black nurses with false allegations to prevent them getting more pay. 

Bennett, who runs Equality 4 Black Nurses, said her colleagues were being “bullied” and forced onto performance plans so that they fail to make the highest rank. 

Bennett said there were a number of cases involving ‘confidence nurses’ who had never previously had a complaint made against them.

She said: “We get a lot of false allegations telling lies on nurses, that’s one thing. And then another common thing we get, which ties into the pay rise, that we get lots of black nurses who are on their way to going up to the higher bands and then they become targeted and profiled, and told that they need to go on performance plans as a way to draw them back down.”

A British Medical Association survey of 2,000 doctors and medical students found that just over 90 percent of Black and Asian respondents, 73 per cent mixed ethnic backgrounds and, 64 per cent of White respondents believed that racism was an issue within the NHS. 

Similarly, results of a survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing identified that ‘racism is endemic in healthcare’, with White nurses twice as likely to be promoted as Black and Asian staff. 

Later during the podcast, Neomi mentioned that the NHS is “vilifying, abusing nurses, suspending them and paying them to be at home”, while a “kangaroo style court” is carried out on Black nurses.

She also described racial bullying in the NHS as “something that needs to be urgently addressed”. 

Her comments stand in stark contrast to the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard Report 2021, published in 2022, which stated the commitment to “tackling racial discrimination to bridge the gaps in experience, opportunity and differential attainment in our diverse workforce”. 

However, Neomi says such reports are “tick box exercises” and emphasises that more attention needs to be given to the toxic culture of racism in the NHS. 

She added: “If we look back at the George Floyd incident and we look back at the BLM protests where were the nursing unions? A Black woman is four times more likely to die in childbirth. Where are the unions standing up for not just Black nurses but who is standing up for Black patients?” 

While the NHS has a public commitment to tackling racial inequality within its workforce, according to Neomi’s comments and recent data a very different trend is transpiring within the heart of the organisation. 

BMA junior doctor committee diversity and equality lead, Dr Ayesha Shafaq said: “It is deeply concerning to hear about reports of racism against staff working in the NHS as there continue to be serious issues at an institutional level which is damaging to these individuals and on the overall delivery of patient care.

“A BMA report published last year found that nearly one third of doctors surveyed have considered leaving their job or have already left within the past two years due to race discrimination. Bullying in their workplace due to their ethnicity was also found to be a significant issue for staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, with 37% of respondents from Black backgrounds and 37% from Asian backgrounds reporting that they had been bullied due to their ethnicity.

“The experience of racism is incredibly distressing and should not be happening in our health service. We cannot underestimate the impact this has not only on the lives of the doctors and staff impacted but on patient care and the overall delivery of services. We need to see urgent action from Government to NHS organisations, healthcare leaders and other institutions to make this a thing of the past.”

The Micah McLean Talks YouTube channel, which was created by National Diversity Award Shortlisted Nominee Micah McLean to engage young men on the onset of the pandemic. Watch Micah interview politicians, celebrities and public figures such as Kwasi Kwarteng, Bernice King, Ian King, Levi Roots, Emile Heskey, Carvin Winans, Shaun Wallace and Tamela Mann here.

Comments Form

3 Comments

  1. | Noel mclean

    It a shame to see black people targeted like this. Thanks for highlighting this.

    Reply

    • | Anonymous

      I know this to be very true. I know my case involves racism but advised I cannot go down that route after being suspended since 2021. This has destroyed my life and my career

      Reply

  2. | Veronica Gladzah-Barker

    Same racism issue. Please can I get Noami contact number or email please.

    Reply

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