Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is proud to have joined many other NHS organisations in signing up to seven national principles of anti-racism – to turn pledges into real and meaningful workplace actions which benefit everyone.
The principles, developed by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, are designed to dismantle structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism to improve patient safety, strengthen leadership, and protect staff.
To mark its commitment to tackling all forms of racism and health inequalities, the Trust was delighted to welcome the Observatory’s Chief Executive, Professor Habib Naqvi MBE and Assistant Director of Workforce, Owen Chinembiri to Bradford Royal Infirmary last week.
They met the Trust’s Executive team, visited Maternity services and Bradford Institute for Health Research, chatted with members of our staff equality networks and joined local community partners to hear their stories and their hopes for the future through strong, grassroots engagement with the Trust.
Professor Habib Naqvi said:
We know equity and inclusion across our NHS require more than words; they demand intentional and systemic action, robust leadership, and clear accountability. That’s why we welcome Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ commitment to adopting and implementing the Observatory’s ‘7 Principles of Anti-Racism for NHS Staff’.
By embedding these evidence-based principles into its organisational practice and culture, the Trust is taking a vital step towards tackling racial inequalities at their root.
Ensuring a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for NHS staff is not only a moral duty, but a critical driver for staff engagement, patient safety, and higher quality of care for the entire community. We look forward to working with the Trust on this critically important work.
Professor Mel Pickup, Chief Executive for the Trust, said:
Being anti-racist in everything we do as a Trust needs to be underpinned by clear actions and accountability.
The NHS Race and Health Observatory’s seven principles of anti-racism create a very clear and measurable framework to help guide our work. While we should be rightly proud of some of the work we have done at the Trust and locally in our health and care system, I know there is so much more we can and must do.
It is our intention to work closely with the Observatory to implement the principles so that we can benefit from their expertise and their knowledge of best practice from other places. Furthermore, we recognise that we cannot do this alone and it was reassuring that we welcomed some of our community partners and to listen to them sharing the experiences of people from our communities as well as hearing of their commitment to working with us.
We know that being anti-racist requires collective effort, energy and resilience especially at a time when the wider geo-political environment creates a difficult operating environment for those working in this space. We are ready to meet that challenge head on, as the language and actions of those seeking to create division have no place here in Bradford.
You can find the NHS Race and Health Observatory’s seven anti-racism principles here.