The Royal College of Midwives has told the TUC Black Workers Conference that urgent action is needed to stamp out racism in the NHS.

Despite the laudable aim in the NHS People Plan promising ‘zero tolerance’, BAME NHS staff still face significant challenges. The recent 2020 NHS Staff Survey found that BAME staff are more than twice as likely to personally experience discrimination at work than white staff.

Research has also revealed that, during the pandemic last year, BAME staff who asked for additional PPE during coronavirus were more likely to be refused, and nearly two-thirds of BAME healthcare workers felt more pressured to work with coronavirus patients compared to white staff (33 per cent).

The RCM is calling for an open and inclusive NHS in which everyone feels that they belong and says the NHS must support and give BAME staff equal opportunities to progress.

The RCM motion to the TUC Black Workers Conference is part of the RCM’s Race Matters programme, launched last year to tackle this endemic problem within the NHS. The TUC conference is running from 19-21 March.