Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

In light of the recent Black Lives Matter protests, the disproportionate number of BAME healthworkers dying from Covid-19, and the long-standing systemic inequalities in the health sector and broader society, the NIHR have published a piece in recognition of Black Lives Matter. It acknowledges racism and the structural barriers experienced by minority communities in the research system.

In the same vein, The BMJ have published a special issue on 'racism in medicine' which reflects the working lives of doctors from ethnic minority backgrounds and the healthcare experiences of ethnic minority patients. The edition focuses on race and its impact on health. 

NIHR

"We stand in solidarity against racism and anti-blackness and we acknowledge that as a research organisation we have more to do. We need more black voices within our leadership, in our committees, in our institutions and in the cohorts of people we fund. We must oppose racism in all its forms." Read the news: NIHR stands by Black Lives Matter

Video series on ethnic diversity, PPI and understanding cultural competency in research

The NIHR has collaborated with the Centre for BME Health on a series of videos about designing and delivering health and care research that is sensitive to and inclusive of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. These include:

  • Ensuring ethnic diversity in research
  • An introduction to cultural competence in research
  • Patient and public advice on ethnic diversity in research.

Watch the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIa1oelW_zJ_3wXmB9nVAReTFQSR5GTiY 

BBC

The medical school trying to become anti-racist, by fourth-year medical student, Eva Larkai, University of Bristol

GP online

Viewpoint: How racism has affected my career in medicine by Dr Nonye Ogomo

BAME medical students are being undermined by racism, warns BMA

The BMJ

This exerpt is taken from the news editor Zosia Kmietowicz' discussion about the motivation behind the issue.

"The idea of having an edition of The BMJ devoted to the issues that affect doctors and patients from ethnic minority backgrounds came to me after reading an account of one doctor’s experiences of racism during more than 40 years of working for the NHS. Rajgopalan Menon trained in southern India and arrived in the UK in the 1970s. He described the pain of being called a “Paki,” of being asked questions by patients and trainers that would not have been asked of white doctors, and of being dismissed as a potential candidate for jobs white doctors were applying for. He called for the NHS, medical royal colleges, General Medical Council, and BMA for a collective apology for their failure to act on racism, for himself and all the other ethnic minority doctors who had helped run the NHS.

Ethnic minority patients experience differential outcomes in healthcare. Maternity and infant mortality are stark examples, but there is also evidence of differences relating to race in cancer survival, life expectancy, and diabetes care.

These were among the issues I thought could be aired and debated in a special themed issue of The BMJ. When I put the idea to our senior editors they agreed."

Read the full piece: The Racism in Medicine issue: how we did it

Contents taken from The BMJ below:

Editor's Choice

Investigation

Editorial

Feature

Opinion

News

Analysis

Careers clinic