Trusts face race act spot checks

The Healthcare Commission is to spot-check 40 NHS trusts after an audit of 394 revealed only 9% were complying with the Race Relations Act.

The Healthcare Commission is to spot-check 40 NHS trusts after an audit of 394 revealed only 9% were complying with the Race Relations Act.

Despite a small improvement on last year, the commission is sufficiently concerned to have announced that non-compliance with the act will lead to points being deducted in the next round of annual review performance scores.

The act requires organisations to promote equality between different ethnicities and to publish data, including details of race equality assessments.

Jamie Rentoul, the commission's head of strategy, said: 'With 1.4 million workers, the NHS is one of the biggest employers in the world – almost 40% of staff are from black and minority ethnic groups. The aim is to encourage trusts to eliminate discrimination and promote equality for staff.'