Two thirds of Black Britons experience prejudice in UK healthcare settings: How can technology help spread inclusiveness?

What is Radar Healthcare?

Here at Radar Healthcare, we have the ongoing opportunity and responsibility to improve patient safety and the quality of care for all. 

As part of the integrated software and systems we provide to our 70,000+ customers, organisations are able to transform unreliable and outdated processes and inconsistent communications into a much more streamlined and centralised approach, bringing healthcare into the 21st century. 

We are continually seeing the impact that data can have on creating a culture of trust and learning within healthcare. It can help people take an objective view on change, support risk analysis and build credibility for new ideas and initiatives. 

As well as this, data can support the production of common visions and priorities across a system, making the changes within processes inclusive, rather than exclusive. 

Health inequalities related to race within the NHS

Ethnic inequalities regarding the access to and experiences of healthcare are unfortunately long standing issues within the NHS, and are rooted in decades of structural, institutional, and systematic racism. 

A 2018 BMA survey found that despite a growing number of black, Asian and minority ethnic doctors, 45% did not feel there was respect for diversity nor a culture of inclusion in their places of work. 

A separate BMA report from June 2022 that focused on delivering racial equality in medicine highlighted that racism is still pervasive within medicine at both a personal and institutional level. It unearthed a lack of support from institutions in reporting racist behaviour, and highlighted that more than three quarters (76%) of healthcare workers from ethnic backgrounds had experienced racism.  

More recently, it was reported that a government white paper looking into the stark health inequalities that were exposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic had been scrapped. 

The paper was due to set out plans to narrow the gap in health outcomes between white and BAME populations, and tackle the unacceptable disparities in health outcomes by breaking the link between one's background and their prospect for a healthy life. 

How can technology work to improve the healthcare experiences of ethnic minorities?

There is an abundance of opportunities for technology and software processes to assist in the ongoing challenge of tackling areas of racism and inequalities among ethnic minorities within healthcare settings: 

• Updated reporting processes: Any incidents of racial discrimination targeted at patients or staff within healthcare settings should be reported, with each organisaion ensuring there are digital processes in place to record and monitor the frequency and patterns of behaviour being displayed. 
• Improved monitoring of patient data: Digital processes should be in place across all healthcare settings to ensure that a patient's ethnicity is recorded accurately (i.e., self-reported and confirmed) in all staff interactions. A February 2022 report from the Race & Health Observatory highlighted that previous studies utilising clinical data often had substantial amounts of missing information regarding patient ethnicity. 
• Utilising patient data to keep track of specific needs: Any specialist assistance or requirements that an individual may require whilst in a healthcare setting, such as an interpreter service, female-only staff or dietary specifications should be highlighted and digitally processed to ensure they feel as comfortable and safe as possible.