Ethnicity, Equality of Opportunity, and the British National Health Service

"This title was first published in 2002: Numerous reports have identified the serious problems of under-representation of, and discrimination against, minority ethnic groups in the British NHS. It is widely argued that this both raises issues of social justice and undermines the quality of service to minority ethnic patients. Nowhere are these problems more acute than among the largest occupational group in the NHS - nurses. This book reports the results of research carried out for the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting to evaluate NHS equal opportunities policy. Drawing on additional original research involving interviews with key policy actors, this fascinating book examines the prospects for a national strategy linking the business and justice cases for the delivery of greater equity in employment and service delivery."--Provided by publisher Numerous reports have identified the serious problems of under-representation of, and discrimination against, minority ethnic groups in the British NHS. It is widely argued that this both raises issues of social justice and undermines the quality of service to minority ethnic patients. Nowhere are these problems more acute than among the largest occupational group in the NHS - nurses. This book reports the results of research carried out for the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and subsequently set in the context of an evaluation of NHS equal opportunities policy drawing on additional original research involving interviews with key policy actors. This fascinating book examines the prospects for a national strategy linking the business and justice cases for delivery greater equity in employment and service delivery.

Author Biography: Paul Iganski, Dr, Department of Sociology, University of Essex, UK and David Mason, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Plymouth, UK

This title was first published in 2002: An up-to-date assessment of the state of equal opportunities provision and initiatives in the National Health Service, set against a consideration of political and social trends in modern Britain associated with the changing character of ethnic identities and disadvantage. This text explores the equal employment opportunities in the NHS, drawing from a research project commissioned by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB). The discussion is placed within the wider context of conceptual arguments about ethnic difference.