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Stephen Dorrell, Chair, NHS Confederation responds to the NHS Equality and Diversity Council's inaugural report of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES).

“The objective of inclusive employment practice wins virtually unanimous endorsement across the health and care sector, but today’s report challenges us to recognise that the gap between rhetoric and reality remains uncomfortably large. This report should be read by Board members and senior management across the sector, and we should all challenge ourselves to see the findings and learnings from this report translate into change on the ground.

“It is shocking that any NHS employee should feel themselves disadvantaged or feel that their career opportunities are stunted as a result of their ethnic or social background. I believe that all NHS organisations should ensure that they are genuinely “equal opportunity employers” and should adopt policies which ensure that staff members receive the same positive opportunities. Quite apart from important principles of social justice, failure to do this risks losing some of our greatest human potential.