The NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard shows that black and minority ethnic (BME) representation in senior positions in the NHS are at their highest ever level.

The publication shows that the number of BME staff at very senior manager level has more than doubled between 2020 to 2021 – up from 153 to 298.

Additionally, the number of BME board members across all NHS trusts has increased by a quarter between 2020 and 2021, and are up by three quarters on 2018 when the data was first shared.

However, BME staff remain underrepresented in senior positions – particularly in board executive roles – which is why the Long Term Plan has called on every NHS trust to set its own target on senior BME representation by the end of 2022, to reflect their overall workforce.

NHS England has also highlighted that the NHS workforce is more diverse than at any point in NHS history with more than 300,000 staff from a BME background – the equivalent of 22.4 per cent of all NHS staff. The survey also shows that 29 per cent of BME staff experienced bullying, harassment of abuse from patients last year, three per cent higher than white staff.

Anton Emmanuel, Head of Workforce Race Equality Standard said: “The last two years have been the most challenging in NHS history and it is fantastic that increasing number of BME people have been inspired to join one of the most rewarding careers and that BME representation in senior positions has never been higher. There remains a lot of work to do change the experience of black and ethnic minority staff, but it is clear that when monitoring targets are set and evidence-based actions pursued, it is possible to shift staff experience, and the challenge now is to ensure this happens across the whole of the NHS.”

Em Wilkinson-Brice, Acting Chief People Officer for NHS England, said: “Our staff are at the heart of the NHS and throughout the pandemic they have shown how they continue to go above and beyond of what is expected of them. It is our responsibility to ensure that all our staff truly have an equitable experience at work regardless of race and this year’s WRES report shows the NHS has made impressive progress on this.

“But there is much more work to be done and NHS England is continuing to take action to improve diversity within the health service including through trialling inclusive recruitment programmes and continuing to rollout diverse staff networks.”