Starmer’s plan to combat NHS racism will not work

Mandatory online diversity training won’t fix racism, including antisemitism, in the NHS; only evidence-based, accountable leadership and cultural change will, writes Roger Kline.

The prime minister is right. All forms of racism, including antisemitism, are incompatible with the founding values of the NHS. They damage access to care and to treatment, and cause serious harm to staff. It is absolutely right that ministers are calling for decisive action against both, though it is a serious weakness that Islamophobia – currently rampant – gets just a passing mention.

Unfortunately for the PM, what he is proposing simply won’t work. The relevant research on tackling racism is unambiguous. It shows that relying on mandatory online training for NHS staff – as proposed as the centrepiece of last week’s government announcement – is doomed to failure. Worse, it risks becoming an alternative to precisely the work the NHS should be doing that does have a solid evidence base.

Continue reading here (paywall): https://www.hsj.co.uk/health-inequalities/starmers-plan-to-combat-nhs-racism-will-not-work/7040225.article