Ethnic Diversity Policy: Perceptions within the NHS

Abstract

Ethnic diversity has become an important policy objective for the Labour government, particularly since the publication of the Macpherson Report (  ). It is projected as a potential means of improving service provision in various policy areas from policing to the business sector. The contention of this article, based on research conducted in the NHS, is that much more thought needs to be given to the shape of ethnic diversity and its operationalization if services are to improve for society as a whole. The current shape of the concept, as perceived by the majority of the interview respondents who participated in the research (all of whom had responsibility for employment decisions within their organizations), promises at best disappointment, and at worst a further peripheralization of minority ethnic issues, for which communities themselves may be held responsible.

Diversity in the British NHS: the business versus the “moral” case

“…One of the problems with this was the lack of clarity about the parameters of ethnic diversity in particular and how this could be translated into unambiguous policy (Johns, 2004;Johns and Green, 2009). Additionally there is a fundamental lack of evidence to support the business case argument.…”

“…Equality of opportunity in employment is connected to service delivery through the medium of diversity. The essence of this is that the "best person" for a job or promotion is the person who is best able to recognise the diversity of needs they are facing ( Johns, 2004). Having established this the next question is: what impact has diversity made where it has been achieved?…”

“…Thus it is difficult to say with any authority that ethnically diverse health providers provide more sensitive services than non-ethnically diverse providers. Nor does it recognise the possible costs for those appointed, are they being set up as "ethnic specialists" with prescribed and restricted career prospects; something that has been observed since the passage of the Local Government Act 1966 (Somerville and Steele, 1998;Johns, 2004Johns, , 1999. Furthermore, this operates on the assumption that increasing uptake is a positive outcome, which would reflect the philosophy of the NHS 776 EDI 31,8 (underlined in the constitution), but would inevitably place an additional strain on finite resources.…”

“…Edwards, 1995;Glazer, 1998;Fielding, 1999;Law and Harrison, 2001). Johns (2004Johns ( , 2005Johns ( , 2006 found that there is support for increasing diversity regarding BME groups amongst different groups both inside and outside the NHS. The international evidence about the efficacy of this will be discussed below, but it is worth pointing out at this stage that it has 777 Diversity in the British NHS been adopted in comparable public sectors such as policing, but with mixed results (Sardar, 1999;Law and Harrison, 2001;Walker et al, 2003).…”

“…Second, that there is little clarity about what diversity means for the NHS in terms of either desirable means and ends. However, this paper does not explicitly discuss the policy options by which diversity is pursued (but see Johns, 2004Johns, , 2005, since it is a related, but separate issue.…”