White nurses twice as likely to get promoted than black and Asian nurses
The Royal College of Nursing is calling on the government to tackle the 'endemic' of racism within healthcare settings
A recent study from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed that white nurses are twice as likely to get at least one promotion in their careers than their black and Asian colleagues.
The study, which involved surveying almost 10,000 nursing staff, found that this difference in career progression was most stark amongst nurses aged 35 to 44 years old.
These findings have been labelled "deeply shocking" by the college, who have pointed to structural racism as the reason behind this disparity.
As such, the college has called on the Government to take action on the "endemic" of racism within healthcare settings.
To do this, they suggest that the government should include a legal requirement to eliminate disparities in recruitment, retention and career progression as well as place a greater responsibility for employers to protect minority ethnic groups.
The RCN also say that this structural racism is having a "devastating" impact on minority ethnic staff and have highlighted the survey finding that black respondents working in hospitals and in the community were more likely to report having experienced physical abuse than respondents of other ethnic backgrounds.
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At at a conference around this issue in Glasgow, agency nurse Roseline Sanni-Ajose spoke out about about the treatment of black and ethnic minority nurses during the pandemic.
She said: "Covid-19 was a terrible situation for black and ethnic minority nurses in the country.
"Due to the shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment), we were not given adequate masks and were told to reuse our protective clothing and wear a gown all day, even if we'd been exposed to Covid-19 patients."
Bruno Daniel, the RCN's diversity and equalities co-ordinator, has also given a statement on the survey findings and the issue of structural racism within healthcare.
He said: "Examples of racism experienced by nursing staff in the workplace are deeply shocking.
"The pandemic has shone a spotlight on structural racism in health and care services and we must seize this opportunity to stamp out this vile behaviour once and for all.
"The UK Government and devolved administrations must properly acknowledge and address this problem and the devastating impact it has on Black and ethnic minority staff and patients."