1 in 5 minority staff at NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB harassed, bullied or abused by colleagues despite discrimination improvements

More than one in five minority staff members at an NHS board are harassed, bullied or abused by colleagues despite improvements in discrimination.

Board members at the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) met yesterday to discuss annual staff data relating to race.

The report showed an improvement in the proportion of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff experiencing discrimination at work from a manager, team leader, or colleagues in the year leading up to March, with 11 per cent, down from 17.39 per cent.

For white staff members, the figure was 4.7 per cent, down from 6.2 per cent the year before.

Both groups were below the national average for ICBs and marked a continued decrease in discrimination.

However, as many as 22 per cent of BME staff - around one in five - experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other staff which, although less than previous years, was still up from 18.18 per cent the year prior.

By comparison, 13.76 per cent of white staff members reported the same.

Amanda Lyes, the executive director of workforce and people, said the board should be proud of its improvements, but more work was needed.

“We can be proud of what we have done over the last 12 months," she said, "we have had some positive outcomes, we acknowledge there is more we need to be doing, and we are not complacent on that.”

Dr Ed Garratt, the ICB's chief executive, said although there was 'really good progress', there were parts which made for 'uncomfortable' reading.

He pointed out it was a really stressful period for staff, particularly with tensions in the country at the moment.

Results for harassment, bullying or abuse received by BME staff by patients were similar, with 17.6 per cent reporting such experiences, up from 13.6 per cent the year before and significantly higher than the national ICB average.

Dr Freda Bhatti, the Essex primary care partner, said: “I am alarmed by what’s going on in the country at the moment, and it’s really important that we don’t ‘other’ our colleagues, even more so now than before.

“It’s making people feel, like myself, very vulnerable in our own country.”

The report said the ICB would carefully monitor the responses of this year's staff survey and would ensure both members and the public were aware of its zero-tolerance policy.

There were some other good results, however, with the gap between white and BME applicants being shortlisted for posts narrowing significantly, as well as disabled staff reporting less harassment from managers and feeling less pressured to work while unwell.