Racism, discrimination and diversity within healthcare

Joint statement by the RCoA President and Deans of FPM and FICM

The Royal College of Anaesthetists, Faculty of Pain Medicine, and Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine condemn racism and discrimination in any shape or form. We are committed to supporting our fellows, members and staff from black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds. We recognise the importance of the issues of racism and discrimination in society raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, and we understand that staying silent on these issues is not appropriate.

Diversity is a strength for any organisation, and our members are rightly proud of their inclusive and welcoming specialty. But we also understand that we must work hard to protect, nurture and celebrate that diversity, and to ensure equality of opportunity for everyone in our community.

We therefore commit ourselves to engaging with our members and staff over the coming weeks and months, and are looking at the best ways to really listen to what they have to say on these issues. We will learn from their experiences, and work to implement positive changes into the fabric of our organisations, our processes and practices, to ensure that inclusivity is at the heart of our businesses and our professions.

We do not expect that the change required will be quick or easy to achieve, but we will not back away from this challenge. Only by working together will we make the specialties of anaesthesia, pain medicine and intensive care medicine, and our society, truly fairer for all.

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President, Royal College of Anaesthetists
Dr John Hughes, Dean, Faculty of Pain Medicine
Dr Alison Pittard, Dean, Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine