A crowd of nurses and other health professionals have gathered outside the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) headquarters to protest against the discrimination and racism faced by staff from a minority ethnic background – from both the regulator and the wider healthcare system.
Today’s protest, led by Equality 4 Black Nurses (E4BN), comes in response to findings within a recently published culture review which exposed a ‘hotbed of bullying, racism and toxic behaviour’ at the regulator.
Registered nurse and founder of the E4BN support network Neomi Bennett told Nursing in Practice she organised today’s protest because ‘enough is enough’.
‘The racism in this organisation is appalling. We have had enough,’ she added.
Those protesting outside the NMC headquarters in London today included nurses, midwives and doctors – with healthcare professionals uniting in solidarity with their colleagues.
The aim of the demonstration was to demand a ‘fair and inclusive environment’ for all healthcare professionals, as previously reported.
Speaking to Nursing in Practice at the protest, senior mental health nurse James Ntalumbwa, said black nurses were ‘terrified’ about the prospect of being referred to the NMC.
‘I am a senior nurse, but I no longer feel safe in nursing,’ he added.
Mr Ntalumbwa, who previously worked at a trust in Manchester but is currently on sabbatical, stressed what had been reported on within the NMC was ‘not in isolation’.
‘I’ve witnessed first-hand how cultures, if entrenched at an executive level, can impact on people and their ability to speak up,’ he added.
The report, from Nazir Afzal and Rise Associates, found that staff from minority ethnic backgrounds at the NMC were ‘held back and treated differently’ and that this was shown through ‘bullying, double standards regarding opportunities and discrimination’.
It also saw NMC lawyers claiming there had been a ‘mishandling’ of fitness to practise (FtP) cases relating to racism.
Previously, figures from the NMC have shown that black nurses are more likely to be referred to the NMC for FtP concerns.
In a speech at the protest, Felicia Kwaku, registered nurse and past chair of the Chief Nursing Officer’s BME Strategic Advisory group, said it was vital that nurses felt ‘confident in our regulator that they do what is right every time, all the time’.
She described the culture review as a ‘permanent stain on their record’ and stressed the NMC must make sure that it ‘safeguards and protects both registrants and their employees’.
Also at the protest was Professor Anton Emmanuel, a registered doctor who previously worked for NHS England (NHSE) as part of its Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) work.
He reiterated that concerns raised at the protest today were not unique to the NMC, but represented the issues of a wider health system that is ‘institutionally, fundamentally, circumferentially malign’.
The protest was also attended by Cathryn Watters, founder of NMC Watch – a campaign group that has scrutinised the NMC since 2017, the year that Ms Watters own NMC referral was dropped by the High Court.
Outlining the changes she wants to see Ms Watters told Nursing in Practice: ‘It’s basically about transparency of the process, making it fair for everybody, making sure that everybody has an equal chance in the process which doesn’t really happen.
‘It’s well known that if you’re not represented, you’re more likely to have a much less favourable outcome.’
Ms Watters explained that some changes have taken place in the NMC in recent years, such as the Fitness to Practise Careline, which the NMC launched in 2019 to support those distressed by the referral process.
However, she added the latest culture report was ‘shocking reading, but sadly no surprise to anyone who has been referred to the NMC’.
An NMC spokesperson said: ‘
An NMC spokesperson said: ‘We’re very sorry to anyone who feels they’ve experienced racism and other forms of discrimination within our regulatory processes, and we acknowledge the strength of feeling expressed at today’s protest.’
They said they had accepted the recommendations of the review and were ‘confident this will help to move the NMC towards achieving racial equity for its people’.
They pointed to the Empowered to Speak Up Guardian – available to colleagues to raise concerns – and said it would be appointing an equality, diversity and inclusion advisor to the executive board.
‘We will also work to increase the diversity of the executive board,’ the spokesperson said.
The NMC also pledged to ‘keep working to deliver our existing £30m investment in an 18-month plan to make a step change in fitness to practise, with a clear goal to reach decisions in a more timely and considerate way’.
