The senior leaders of every NHS ambulance service in the country have heard that support to recruit and retain BAME staff and sharing areas of best practice is needed to improve the diversity and ethnicity across the sector.
That was the observations of Bo Escritt to the latest Council meeting of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives after three months in her new role as national ambulance diversity forum programme manager.
She showed evidence to the Council – a body consisting of the chairs and chief executives of every NHS ambulance trust in the UK – that BAME staff experience more discrimination than any other protected characteristic.
And when benchmarked with other NHS trusts, the ambulance sector scored worst of all for BAME bullying and discrimination in the NHS.
However, the July meeting of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives Council was also told that there were areas of good practice in the North East and London to share and learn from, as well as from elsewhere.
Sir Graham Meldrum, chair of West Midlands Ambulance Service, said:
The ambulance sector being at the bottom of the pile is not acceptable. We must take action as leaders.
Lena Samuels, chair of AACE Council and also South Central Ambulance Service, added:
I am hopeful more than despairing that we can affect change as leaders of the ambulance service.
