The critical role of the NHS Race and Health Observatory

Recent societal upheavals including the death of George Floyd, the subsequent Black LivesMatter movement, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have placed race, racism andpower under the close scrutiny. As the country attempts to make sense of these matters, it must recognise and acknowledge two fundamental points. First, that institutional racism exists in this country and it exists across wider public establishments, including the organisations that make up our health and care system. Second, that the effects of racism are not confined to ethnic minority people and communities—racial equity matters because it benefits everyone. The February 2020 special edition of the British Medical Journal, on ‘ Racism in medicine’ , set out a robust argument for the establishment of an Observatory that brings together insight on ethnic health inequalities and turns that into actionable recommendations for healthcare change. NHS England and NHS Improvement fully supported and endorsed the set-up of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, and NHS Confederation were selected as the host organisation. The evidence base on which the Observatory is established is clear to see: ethnic differences are evident in relation to service provision, access, experience and outcomes in areas from neonatal health to end-of-life care, and in critical points in between those two milestones. And yes, these disparities are set against higher prevalence of health conditions, including (but not …