Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust among best in UK for tackling BAME discrimination, Health Service Journal says

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A local NHS trust has been named as one of the best in the country for tackling and cutting discrimination towards its ethnic-minority staff.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, which runs Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury Hospital, has been ranked third on a nationwide list compiled by the Health Service Journal (HSJ).

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Mid Yorkshire welcomed the findings, saying it took a zero tolerance approach to discrimination, but insisted there was "still much to be done".

The HSJ, a respected healthcare publication, assembled its league table based on feedback from staff surveys carried out across hospital trusts in 2020.

The findings, compiled by the Health Service Journal, were based on staff surveys.The findings, compiled by the Health Service Journal, were based on staff surveys.
The findings, compiled by the Health Service Journal, were based on staff surveys.

The proportion of Mid Yorkshire employees from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, who said they'd suffered discrimination from colleagues or managers, was lower than all but two other trusts.

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The figure was just above 11 per cent, a decline of five percentage points from the previous year.

Responding to the findings, Mid Yorkshire chief executive Martin Barkley said: "We are very pleased the NHS national staff survey found Mid Yorkshire to not just be one of the most improved in terms of the discrimination ethnic minority staff experience at work but to be third in the country, according to the analysis of the Health Service Journal.

"This is a reflection of the trust’s commitment to supporting our ethnic minority staff and celebrate the diversity of our workforce.

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Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield is run by the trust.Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield is run by the trust.
Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield is run by the trust.

“However, we also recognise there is still much to be done. As a board, we have agreed a whole host of actions such as coaching and mentoring for our ethnic minority staff, reviewing our recruitment processes, targeted leadership programmes and cultural awareness training for all staff, as well as a zero tolerance approach to race discrimination in the delivery of our services."

Mr Barkley said he hoped the hospitals' ongoing work on the issue would help people from diverse backgrounds "feel the trust is an employer they would like to come and work for".

He added: "This year has been particularly difficult for the multicultural communities we serve, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those of our staff who have continued to work in service to our patients despite knowing their background may be putting them at greater risk."

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Top of the HSJ's list was the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, followed by the Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust was also in the top ten, in eighth place.

None of the trusts which featured in the bottom 10 were from Yorkshire.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

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