We’re delighted to announce that RCP’s medical director of publishing, Professor Anton Emmanuel, has been appointed as interim senior clinical lead for the NHS’s workforce race equality standard (WRES) programme.
The WRES exists to hold a mirror to the system and reveal the disparities that exist in the NHS workforce between black and minority ethnic staff and their white colleagues. It has been in place for 6 years and there is a strong body of data to help inform the necessary steps to rectify this imbalance.
Professor Emmanuel takes up the role this month.
Commenting on his new appointment, Professor Emmanuel said: “In a year that has seen the COVID-19 pandemic and greatly increased awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting again the societal and service impact of racism, there has never been a more urgent need to use the WRES data as a pivot to action, and to deliver on the frequently evidenced summary that a diverse workforce is more productive and more creative.
“I am deeply conscious that we have to make the experience of all staff in the NHS an equitable one, and thus – critically – to influence patient outcomes.”
Professor Emmanuel will continue to work at the RCP in his role as editor of Clinical Medicine and Commentary, and as medical director of publishing.