THE BRITISH Medical Association has called for urgent action to tackle racism against black nurses in the NHS.

The BMA’s demand comes after senior nurse Neomi Bennett exposed the targeting of black nurses with bogus allegations to deny them a pay rise.

Responding to the story, the BMA’s leading figure for diversity and equality for junior doctors told The Voice ‘there continue to be serious issues at institutional level.’

She 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. 

Dr Ayesha Shafaq expressed concern over the treatment of black nurses and called for ‘urgent action’ from the government and the NHS organisations to tackle racism. 

“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.” 

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.

Health campaigners believe racism in the NHS needs to be addressed urgently not just to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Black nurses and doctors but to ensure the best healthcare is offered to patients irrespective of their racial background. 

Last month it was reported that one in three Black and minority ethnic staff face bullying or discrimination in the NHS. 

The NHS Confederation reported last year more than half of surveyed BME NHS leaders considered leaving the health service in the last three years because of their experience of racist treatment while performing their role as NHS leaders.

The BMA, an effective trade union for doctors in the UK has highlighted in previous studies the prominence of racism within the NHS and have called for radical change.  

NHS England declined to directly comment on Neomi Bennett’s allegations and instead referred to page 35 of the Workforce Race Equality Standard Report 2021- 2022.

The Chief Executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, Dr Habib Naqvi, said: “It is unacceptable that Black and ethnic minority nurses continue to face career obstacles, bullying and discrimination in the NHS workplace.

“If the healthcare system is committed to tackling health inequalities, it must have a nursing workforce and leadership that is representative of the diverse communities it serves. 

“The evidence is clear – treating nurses with the dignity and respect that they deserve ultimately leads to a highly engaged workforce, organisational efficiencies, as well as increased levels of patient satisfaction”.

The Royal College of Nursing said they were considering measures to challenge racial discrimination experienced by minority ethnic nurses in the workplace. 

A statement from the RCN said: “Our own cultural ambassador programme aims to make sure nursing staff from minority ethnic backgrounds are treated fairly and are supported to challenge discrimination and cultural bias at work.”

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