Nursing Leadership in the English NHS: Influencing Diversity, COVID-19, and Me

The UBC School of Nursing was pleased to have virtually hosted Yvonne Coghill as the keynote speaker for the 2020 Marion Woodward Lecture. Ms. Coghill is the Director of the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Implementation in the British National Health Service (NHS) and deputy president of the Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom. In her presentation, she described race equality in the English NHS and strategies for improving allyship in the workplace.

Ms. Coghill spoke about challenges people of black, minority, and ethnic (BME) backgrounds face; particularly in white majority countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. These issues span in various sectors from health to the judicial system where, in general, BME people are more likely to be faced with barriers to success. She also touched upon the correlation between COVID-19 risk factors and race. In England, the death rate due to this virus was seen to be higher among minorities than in those who identify as Caucasian.

Racism is defined as an “organized and very sophisticated system that categorizes, ranks, devalues, disempowers, and differentially allocated opportunities and resources”. This often leads to the development of negative attitudes towards a certain population as well as differential treatment by both individuals and social institutions. Studies have shown that BME people experience greater physiological stress due to the repeated exposure to psychological, social, chemical, and physical factors such as discrimination. These have been defined as microaggressions and have been shown to have negative consequences for people – which in turn, impacts patient care for those working in the healthcare field.

In her presentation, Ms. Coghill also shared various strategies for improving racial inequality in the workplace which include:

  • Reducing managerial bias through education and feedback (i.e. diversity training)
  • Mentoring and networking
  • Implementing mandatory programs with explicit authority, accountability, and support from leadership on developing psychologically safe spaces and monitoring interventions.
  • Based on her research, the last point has been seen to be the most effective method in producing change. It is important to recognize the challenges faced by minority populations and take steps towards building authentic allyship at all levels of the workplace. Abolishing racism does not happen overnight, but it has been shown that by making changes to ensure staff from all backgrounds feel valued, patients also receive better quality of care.

 

“It’s about making sure that all members of staff all across the organization understand what they need to do to make things better.”
Yvonne Coghill, CBE, OBE, JP, MSC, DMS, RGN, RMN, HV, CPT
November 2020

 

Watch the 2020 Marion Woodward Lecture here.

The Marion Woodward Lecture is made possible through the generous support of the Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Woodward’s Foundation.