Narrowing the Gap: Valuing Inclusion and Diversity in the NHS

Experts in our Midst examines the ways in which we can better support the international medical workforce today, with recommendations put forward to enable, engage and empower diaspora NHS staff. From my perspective, fostering inclusion and belongingness is key to this. As humans, we all want to be valued and have our contributions recognised, not to be seen simply as numbers. We need to narrow the gap and maximise potential by providing opportunities for NHS diaspora staff to have greater involvement in research, governance and leadership positions.

At HEE, our main area of focus is to support the delivery of high-quality patient care through educating and training the healthcare workforce. Our strategic aims outlined in our new global strategy mirror many of the issues raised within this report, such as developing NHS staff, ensuring there is zero tolerance towards racism, and promoting diversity within the NHS on an individual and organisational level, as well as strengthening health system partnerships.

Educating the workforce is key to this, particularly on the impact of discrimination and unconscious bias and the importance of cultural competence and cultural safety.

Whatever we do, we need metrics of success and better coordination across organisations. The report highlights a lot of good practice that is already taking place, but we need to join this up and make it more effective. We are all working towards the same goals and through partnership we can reach our objectives.

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