Action needed after report shows BAME groups adversely affected by pandemic
In response to the PHE report being published now in full, we pledge that our work will make a contribution to understanding why a disproportionate number of deaths and serious illness from Covid-19 has happened in these communities. Have you been affected by Covid-19? Tell us your views in the 'Have your say' section of our website.
The new report says that its seven recommendations to help mitigate the risks caused by health inequalities are crucially important as we emerge from the first phase of Covid-19.
The Government must make it compulsory to collect and record ethnicity data as part of routine NHS and social care data collection especially around death certificates, the report says.
This information must be made ‘readily available’ to local health partners to ‘inform actions to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities’, it added.
Improving BAME groups' access to, experiences of and outcomes from NHS and other services - using audits, health impact assessments and better representation of black and minority ethnic communities among staff
Developing risk assessments for black, Asian and minority ethnic workers in roles where they are exposed to a large section of the general public or those infected with the virus.
In a letter accompanying the report, PHE chief executive Duncan Selbie said that it ‘confirms that the impact of Covid-19 has replicated existing health inequalities, and in some cases, increased them’.
We stand in solidarity with our colleagues, volunteers and community members from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. In response to the PHE report being published now in full, we pledge that our work will make a contribution to understanding why a disproportionate number of deaths and serious illness from Covid 19 has happened in these communities. We reject racism in all its forms.
