The patient-driven case for going further
The case for going further
It is clear that there is a correlation between the way we treat our staff and each other, and the quality of care our patients get. It is also clear that our staff members are not the only people who experience racism: our patients do, too. As such, advancing race equity and establishing positive, inclusive working environments helps us to improve patient outcomes and quality of care.
Healthcare organisations do their best to continually improve the quality of the care they provide. For example, in the NHS there have been incredible initiatives and innovations in recent years that have already increased quality of care. But we believe there is still so much more to be gained by going further. The healthcare sector could be even better at fighting healthcare inequalities, creating next-generation care models, and making sure every single patient feels safe and satisfied by doing so.
How does further advancing race equity improve patient outcomes?
A diverse workforce is crucial for fighting healthcare inequalities.
Not taking race into account in patient care can worsen existing care disparities. This is a significant risk: evidence shows us that people from the Global Majority are dying at a higher rate than white people with the same conditions.1 For example, key findings published by the UK Parliament in 2023 revealed that black women are 3.7 times more likely and Asian women are 1.8 times more likely to die during or in the first year after pregnancy than white women.2
Steps are already being taken to address this. The Maternity Disparities Taskforce was established in 2022 by health and care experts to tackle maternal health inequalities, and the NHS's long term plan includes a target to reduce maternal mortality by 50% by 2025.3 However, there is further to go. Diverse workforces are shown to have a positive impact on our quality of care. Having staff members that are representative of the local community is also important because studies show that our patients, who often come from diverse communities, want to be cared for by people they can identify with. As such, there has been a drive in healthcare in the UK to use more community-based approaches to recruitment. For instance, the Leeds Teaching Hospital's "New to Care" Programme recruits and trains local community members to be carers to gain further qualifications.
Increased diversity encourages greater innovation and boosts performance.
Studies show that businesses run by culturally diverse leadership teams are more likely to develop innovative new products which could improve the lives of patients than those with homogenous leadership.4 Additionally, studies published by Harvard Business Review and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin show that non-homogenous teams can actually be better performing, too.5 Having diversity in a group alters the behaviour of a group's social majority in ways that lead to improved and more accurate group thinking.
Patient safety and satisfaction are impacted by how staff are treated.
Managing staff with respect and compassion has been found to correlate with improved patient safety, infection control, care ratings and financial performance as staff are more engaged, motivated and healthy.6 The inverse is also true: patient safety and satisfaction are negatively impacted when workplace culture is poor, when staff are afraid to speak up, face discrimination, or feel that they are being treated unequally.7
Patient care can be improved when staff members feel psychologically safe.
Psychologically safe work environments, where people feel they are treated with dignity and respect, can lead to more effective and safe patient care. Additionally, the effects of discrimination over time can reduce the quality of the care that staff can provide.8
