Report claims NHS blood unit ‘systematically racist’

A leaked internal investigation into the Colindale site of NHS Blood and Transplant has found a unit that is ‘systematically racist’ and ‘psychologically unsafe’.

The Guardian reports that the atmosphere in the department was ‘toxic’ and ‘dysfunctional’, with black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees found to have to ‘tolerate a significant amount of poor behaviour from management that would not be acceptable in other workplace environments’.

The leaked report by Globis Mediation Group, which specialises in workplace relations, was commissioned in response to numerous complaints from BAME employees working within a division of NHS Blood and Transplant. Regarding recruitment, it established that hiring methods were ‘haphazard, based on race and class and whether a person’s ‘face fits’.

Clive Lewis, the chief executive of Globis Mediation Group, noted: “It was very clear that there is great work being done ... The work saves lives and enhances the lives of many people. However, in relation … to the experiences of BAME employees, there is evidence of systemic racism. The recruitment problems at Colindale have led to deeply embedded feelings of anger and distrust amongst the BAME population.”

NHSBT employs about 5,000 people in 16 locations. This report focused on the experiences of 450 staff within one unit, the Colindale site in London, and in particular on the experiences of staff in the manufacturing unit (where plasma and platelets are processed), where out of 68 members of staff, 80 per cent are BAME. However, the report noted that the Birmingham and Manchester NHSBT sites also have poor reputations for dealing with race-related incidents.

Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the British Medical Association’s ruling council, said: “This report highlights all too painfully the racial prejudices and discrimination we are seeing across healthcare. We must renew efforts to challenge these behaviours and bring an end to the enduring injustices faced by black people and BAME healthcare workers here in the UK.”