Responding to the new report 'Too Hot to handle?', RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen, said:
“The findings of this report should force us all to act. It’s critical that we not only talk about racism but act in a decisively anti-racist way.
“The NHS too often fails its minority ethnic staff. These colleagues are substantially less likely to be shortlisted for jobs, less likely to reach the top table, more likely to face disciplinary action, and more likely to report harassment, bullying, and abuse from patients, than their white counterparts.
“Trade unions and professional bodies must be at the heart of the change necessary to root out institutional racism. It’s vital that staff feel safe to challenge discrimination, and confident that the necessary change is taking place. As government focuses heavily on recruiting from around the world, more needs to be done urgently to empower internationally recruited staff to speak out – as their professional body we will take a lead role in that too.
“To see so many who feel driven out of their jobs in the middle of a recruitment crisis because of discrimination is sickening and adds to the peril patients face.”
