UK Regulators Sign New Principles to Tackle Racism
In an unprecedented move, national UK health and social care regulators including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have today committed & signed up to nine new shared anti-racism principles to help tackle longstanding racism experienced by health and social care staff.
This step comes as the Observatory hosts an event in London aimed at over 150 board level, senior NHS leaders, government and health and care stakeholders, to address the long-standing issue of racism and race inequalities in the workplace.
A panel session at the event featuring some of the leaders of the regulatory bodies will present the opportunity to make this collective announcement.
So far, nine regulators have committed to ensuring improved collective accountability to tackle inequalities with signatories including the Health and Care Professions Council, Social Work England, General Optical Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, General Chiropractic Council and the General Osteopathic Council.
The principles agreed by the regulators build on the independent NHS Race and Health Observatory’s Seven Principles of Anti-Racism and commitments made following a regulatory roundtable held last year.
Key insights from this roundtable, attended by a group of influential leaders across the health system and healthcare and professional regulators, have now been published in a full report; Advancing Workforce Race Equality and Inclusive working environments. Participants also cited the need to raise the profile of regulators when addressing all forms of racism and discrimination including Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Further discussions centred on how regulators can collaboratively use their influencing power to increase diverse leadership, co-produce and build trust with communities, improve ethnicity data collection and commit to better understand systemic racism, mandating improvement strategies aligned with goals to reflect best practice.
Following the roundtable, in September, a podcast, “What kind of society do you want to live in?” featuring Sir Julian Hartley, Charlie Massey & Prof Habib Naqvi was produced.
Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, welcomed the signing, saying:
“This announcement marks a key landmark step towards regulating for workforce race equality across our healthcare system. True equality requires more than words; it requires intentional action. By strengthening their collective commitment to race equality, healthcare regulatory bodies are actively dismantling barriers and ensuring that our healthcare system is a place where talent thrives regardless of background. This is a crucial step in the journey to build a truly inclusive, high-performing culture for everyone, and we look forward to working with the regulatory bodies as they progress on this journey.”
Today’s hosts and key speakers are co-chairs of the Observatory’ International Expert Advisory Group, David R. Williams, Professor of Public Health, Harvard University (USA) and Yvonne Coghill CBE, former Director of NHS England’s Workforce Race Equality Standard & Director, Excellence in Action. They will present international evidence on effective approaches which can address UK healthcare challenges.
Lord Victor Adebowale CBE, Marie Gabriel DBE, Professor Habib Naqvi MBE, David Pobert, Dr Nnenna Osuji, Lord Nigel Crisp and Sir David Nicholson are also among headline speakers set to present evidence and solutions for leaders to amplify within their organisations and systems. They will focus on the actions needed for collaborative approaches and the crucial role of accountability required by leaders when shaping policy, practice and organisational culture.
Headline commitments of the nine shared principles, Advancing Workforce Race Equity in Health and Social Care: Shared principles across regulators, include:
- Naming racism
- Valuing lived experience
- Showing leadership
- Collaborative working
- Data and insight development
- Empowering approaches
- Using our powers effectively
- Influencing progress together
- Transparency and Accountability
Charlie Massey, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, said:
“There is no place for racism in healthcare, yet we know that for too many people it remains part of their everyday experience. It affects their confidence, their wellbeing, and their ability to provide the best care for patients.
“These shared principles are significant, and the collective commitment to them by regulators is powerful. It reflects a common purpose and a shared intent to act, and to make a meaningful difference to the lives of people working in health and care services, as well as those they care for.”
Additional organisations are expected to commit to the principles which are set to be reviewed annually.
Paul Rees MBE, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, said:
“Black, Asian and minority ethnic professionals are the backbone of health and care services – including 286,058 nurses, midwives and nursing associates, which is a third of the nursing and midwifery workforce.
“But the sad fact is that many racially minoritised nurses and midwives today are facing 1970s and 1980s style racism – the kind of abuse they haven’t received in decades.
“This is unacceptable and everyone in the sector must do all they can to stamp out racism, not only against nursing and midwifery professionals, but against all racially minoritised people working in health and care.
“That’s why the NMC is proud to sign up to these new anti-racism principles, along with other regulators. When it comes to tackling persistent, unacceptable racism and inequities we’re stronger together – taking collective accountability for making lasting and meaningful change.
“At the NMC we’re also on track to deliver our own new anti-racism principles, specifically for nursing and midwifery education and practice, in late May – to help tackle the Black maternal health crisis and wider Black health disparities.
“We’re also rolling out concrete measures to eliminate bias and disparities from our regulatory processes by 2030 – including eliminating the disproportionate pattern of Fitness to Practise complaints received from employers in relation to ethnicity.”
Professor Bola Owolabi CBE (MRCGP, MFPH Hon, FRSPH), Chief Inspector of Primary Care and Community Services, Care Quality Commission, said:
“Racism is one of the most significant determinants of health and wellbeing, and tackling it is central to CQC’s mission to ensure safe, fair and effective care for everyone.
“Signing up to these principles is something I’m genuinely proud of — it reflects our commitment not just to holding others to account, but to leading by example within our own organisation.
“Fair care cannot exist where racism goes unchallenged, and through these shared principles we are taking the active, deliberate steps needed to drive real and lasting change across health and social care.”