The health secretary has been accused of a “desperate” attempt to reignite culture wars after he ordered NHS managers to stop recruiting to roles promoting diversity and equality.
Steve Barclay has written to NHS leaders, claiming the roles do “not represent value for money” and that the budget was better spent on patient care.
But experts have warned his move will hamper progress made on reducing inequalities for patients within the NHS, with one accusing Mr Barclay of trying to distract from the NHS’ issues with culture wars.
Roger Kline, who wrote the NHS’ flagship race equality report Snowy White Peaks told The Independent: “This is desperate stuff from a Secretary of State who has failed to deliver on a single one of his main priorities so he has now turned to culture wars.”
Mr Kline claimed there was a wealth of research which suggests paying attention to equality and diversity improves recruitment, retention, how teams work and how care is delivered.
Royal College of Nursing chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger added: “The health secretary is playing politics and trying to create a false division. Frontline staff know the importance of diversity in leadership, even if this government is shunning it in a culture war.
“The discrimination faced by staff and patients alike is systemic, it perpetuates poor health outcomes for patients and impacts the wellbeing of staff, including pushing them out of the health service. This government and the next has to turn that around.”
In January this year, The Independent exposed shocking reports from staff in the NHS national race equality survey. The report revealed levels of bullying and harassment of minority workers have not improved in the past five years with almost 30 per cent saying they have been targeted in 2022, compared to 20 per cent of white staff.
In a letter on Thursday, Mr Barclay told heads of NHS Integrated Care Boards – which manage local budgets – he is “concerned that many local NHS organisations are actively recruiting into dedicated DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) roles”.
He added: “Current live adverts include jobs with salaries of up to £96,376, which is above the basic full-time pay for a newly promoted consultant.”
Instead, Mr Barclay called for the cash to be spent on frontline care, with diversity and inclusion the responsibility of all staff in the NHS.
He added that these issues “are everyone’s responsibility” and should be addressed “through normal management processes” rather than through external companies or dedicated roles within organisations.
He also expressed concern at the “continued use of subscriptions to external organisations on DE&I issues”.
Mr Barclay added: “I do not consider that this represents value for money, even more so at a time when budgets are under pressure as we work to tackle the backlog left by the pandemic.
“I would appreciate it if you could work with NHS organisations in your area to review with a view to ceasing recruitment into standalone DE&I roles and external subscriptions to redirect these resources into frontline patient care.”
The health secretary’s order comes after the Care Quality Commission highlighted concerns over inequalities in care facing black and minority ethnic patients, particularly within maternity services in which the risk of death for black pregnant women is four times higher.
The CQC’s report said: “There was a clear view that there is a huge amount to be done in terms of tackling inequitable care and workforce experience, and this must be based on more open acknowledgement of the root cause. One of the most common phrases used by interviewees was that issues of inequality are ‘swept under the carpet’.”
In March 2022, in its response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, the government tasked the CQC to include in their inspection regime assessments on race inequalities within NHS organisations and “why ethnic disparities exist in their workforce.”
