Observatory Launches New NHS Workforce Roadshows
A series of national and regional roadshows launch in Manchester this week to address the ethnicity pay and progression gap impacting the NHS workforce.
The NHS Race and Health Observatory will kick-off the first of seven planned roadshows on Thursday 18 September in Manchester, with others scheduled to take place across the country including London, Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol, until 27 November 2025.
The key aim of the Fair Futures: Regional Roadshows on Ethnicity Pay and Progression in Healthcare is to bring together learnings and insights from experts and leaders, along with interactive workshops which highlight data trends and lived experiences. Feedback, actions and recommendations will focus on effective, practical and evidence-based strategies for improvement.
Hundreds of delegates have signed up to join sessions with some regions now operating waiting lists due to capacity. Those attending can expect to meet with NHS colleagues from across the country to seek advice, network and support and also hear from senior managers and directors, directors of human resources, chief people officers, equality and health inequalities leads, to bring together examples of replicable good practice on tackling workforce race inequalities in these areas.
Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory, said:
“These roadshows herald the start of work to tackle the challenges faced by our NHS colleagues. This is not just as a listening exercise, it’s about putting new plans in place on how we work together to improve outcomes for those dedicated to pursuing their NHS careers, without the unfair burden of discrimination.
“The NHS must operate on fair terms for staff from all backgrounds. Following our recently announced NHS ethnicity pay and progression gap commission, we need all NHS employers to work with us to tackle race inequality and discrimination which is stonewalling the careers of many dedicated professionals at all levels.”
Over 50 key influential speakers including Lord Victor Adebowale, Chair of NHS Confederation, Danny Mortimer, CEO of NHS Employers, Yvonne Coghill, RHO Board member, Renee Bullock, Chief People and Purpose Officer, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Karen Bonner, Regional Chief Nurse for London, NHS England, Ingrid Barker, Chair, North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and Professor Doyin Atewologun, founder and CEO of Delta, will address audiences at various venues.
The RHO roadshows take place on the following dates / locations:
- Thursday 18 September, Manchester
- Friday 19 September, Leeds
- Wednesday 8 October, London
- Thursday 9 October, Cambridge
- Wednesday 12 November, Birmingham
- Thursday 13 November, Brighton
- Thursday 27 November, Bristol
Last month the independent health body announced the first ever comprehensive review of an ethnicity pay and progression gap across the National Health Service, this work will be led by Professor Carol Woodhams (Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Surrey), and Professor Doyin Atewologun (Professor (Hon.) at the University of Exeter and CEO of leadership and inclusion consultancy, Delta).
The roadshows form part of a larger programme of work being undertaken by the Observatory to tackle workforce race inequalities in the NHS. The Observatory is also starting a programme of work to tackle bullying and harassment in the workplace.