East of England Ambulance Service racism survey revealed

An explosive report from a specialist equality, diversity and inclusion consultancy has exposed a toxic racism culture in the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

The report, carried out late last year, said a complaint was ignored after a manager’s husband “coloured himself black and dressed as Mr T” for a company fancy dress party.

Of the 120 black and minority ethnic employees contacted, 58 gave responses.

Damning report - the racism survey found unacceptable behaviour at EEAST (Image: Newsquest)

The survey findings were due to be discussed in a trust board meeting yesterday.

Several responses noted a trend in BME staff being asked to translate for patients speaking "gobbledygook", even if they don't speak their language.

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One staff member said: “The reason given for the request was that 'I look like one of them’."

Another comment claimed a call handler mutes calls from anyone whose first language isn't English, declaring: "If you live in my country, then learn to speak my language."

Apology - EEAST chief executive Tom Abell has met with black and minority ethnic staff to apologise (Image: EEAST)

A Muslim respondent said their colleagues had "openly joked in front of groups of other colleagues about eating food in front of [them] during Ramadan".

Another said they had been excluded by their team on the basis of their race.

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They added: "When my team were ordering a takeaway they didn't order me one as they told me that they were ordering a curry and I was probably sick of them as I must eat them all the time."

Only 22 per cent of respondents felt managers would act upon any complaints made, with many referencing previous issues raised which had been ignored.

Racism - the report revealed one member of staff 'coloured himself black' for a staff party (Image: Archant)

The report also noted a general lack of colleague respect and said racist behaviours, such as a monkey sound being mimicked when referring to an Asian doctor, were often "passed off as 'banter' or completely dismissed".

One staff member said it was "heart wrenching" to see BME colleagues going above and beyond without getting "any recognition for their skills, attributes and knowledge".

McKenzie LLP, which produced the report, said it is “extremely rare” for people to experience the level of discrimination demonstrated within EEAST.

Chief executive: 'I vow to eradicate racist behaviour in the trust'

The chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service has vowed to eradicate racist behaviour in the trust.

A damning report said Tom Abell has met with members of the black and minority ethnic network to personally apologise for its findings.

Mr Abell said: “We commissioned this independent research to better understand the working lives of our colleagues.

“It shows that there are some instances of inappropriate behaviour at the trust and I am sorry to all of my colleagues who have experienced this.

“I am clear that behaviour like this has no place in our Trust and will be eradicated.

“We have a wide-ranging plan to tackle this behaviour and make EEAST a more inclusive place to work.

“We have made good progress to improving our culture, as shown by our recent improved report from the Care Quality Commission.

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in the research and colleagues who continue to call out this type of behaviour.”

The summary stated some of the poor behaviour occurred before Mr Abell’s arrival in his role.

A three-year BME action and integrated inclusivity plan has been developed which aims to "increase levels of diversity, equality, fairness and transparency, across the trust."

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