50 per cent BME board share held by one trust

New NHS data has revealed that only one NHS trust has as many black and minority ethnic board members as white, with 96 trusts having no BME board directors at all.

The figures, from the 2018 workforce race equality standard data published by NHS England, indicate that Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust had the highest share of black or ethnic minority (BME) board members at 50 per cent, and increase of 10 per cent from last year. Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust was followed by East London Foundation Trust, which had 44 per cent, and North Middlesex Trust at 40 per cent.

Of concern for NHS leadership, the data shows that 96 NHS trusts of the 231 trusts said they had no BME board members at all last year. With the total NHS workforce sitting at an average 20 per cent BME representation, 7.4 per cent of board members were from a BME background in 2018 across all trusts surveyed.

Separate analysis of the largest increases in the share of board members reported as BME between 2017 and 2018 found that North Middlesex Hospital Trust’s share increased from 23 per cent to 40 per cent, while 56 trusts reported their share of BME board members fell over the same time period.

NHS England recently published a new report highlighting the experience of BME people working in the NHS and committed £1 million of annual funding to improve their well-being.