NHS consultants from black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME) are paid less than their white colleagues, according to a review which unions say highlights the “unacceptable barriers and discrimination” in the health service.
Analysis of NHS pay data, published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, shows that basic pay for senior white doctors is 4.9 per cent higher than for BAME doctors on average. This amounts to an extra £4,644 per year for white consultants, according to the analysis.
The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world with 1.2 million employees. In England, BAME staff made up 20 per cent of the total NHS workforce compared to around 15 per cent of the public who said they are from a BAME background in the 2011 census. Consultants are the most senior and highest earning members of frontline NHS staff. Median pay differences were found between all ethnicities. White consultants earn 3.5 per cent more than black consultants, around 4.9 per cent more than Asian doctors, and 6.1 per cent more than those of mixed heritage.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association, said: “This BMJ study confirms that BAME doctors continue to face unacceptable barriers, penalties and discrimination in the NHS. “It cannot be right that in 21st-century Britain there are such wide gaps in pay between white and BAME doctors in senior posts when, irrespective of their background, they hold positions to deliver the same care to patients."
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