(Bloomberg) -- Black, Asian and ethnic minority doctors have been “consistently disadvantaged” when applying for senior roles in the U.K.'s health service because of their race, a survey by the Royal College of Physicians found.
The RCP, a professional body that represents the country's doctors, said that White doctors applied for fewer consultant posts but were more likely to be shortlisted and offered a position than their BAME peers. White clinicians were more than twice as likely to be offered a job the first time round compared with BAME candidates, the report said.
The National Health Service, the country's biggest employer, has one of the most diverse workforces in the U.K., with one in five workers being non-White. However, staff from BAME backgrounds make up a smaller number of workers at senior and very senior grades across the provider.
“Racial discrimination is still a major issue within the NHS,” Professor Andrew Goddard, president of the RCP said in a statement. “It's a travesty that any health care appointment would be based on anything other than ability.”
The report analyzed eight years of annual surveys on the experiences of trainee clinicians within a year of completing their medical certificate.
“All of us – managers, doctors and the wider clinical team – need to confront and eliminate the discrimination faced by BME colleagues in their workplaces and careers,” Rebecca Smith, managing director at NHS Employers, said in the statement.
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