Ethnicity In The NHS: It's Glorious
Published by Stephen Milward in Medical · Wednesday 10 Jun 2026 · 2 minutes
Tags: Ethnicity, NHS, Nationalities, Diversity, Inclusion, Healthcare, Workforce, Multiculturalism, King's, Mill, Hospital, Sherwood, Forest, Hospitals, NHS, Foundation, Trust
Tags: Ethnicity, NHS, Nationalities, Diversity, Inclusion, Healthcare, Workforce, Multiculturalism, King's, Mill, Hospital, Sherwood, Forest, Hospitals, NHS, Foundation, Trust
As I write this post, Denise is seriously ill in hospital. I visit her every day and I have met doctors, nurses, ward staff, cleaners, volunteers, physiotherapists, radiographers, pharmacists, registrars, consultants, porters, catering assistants, technicians... I hope I haven't missed anyone out. Each role has been essential in Denise's care. These people are well trained and in my experience, very caring.
There's an on-going discussion about the ethnic makeup of NHS staff. Why this should be a discussion in the first place, I'm not entirely sure. Let's have a look at the figures.
According to the House of Commons Library, 26 November 2025 (i), of every 1000 NHS staff in England,
- 787 are British
- 99 are Asian
- 52 are from the E.U.
- 42 are African
- 20 are from somewhere else
There are over 200 different nationalities between them. That makes for a rich, cosmopolitan NHS, bringing experience from around the globe.
My local large hospital is King's Mill Hospital (ii). Just by the main lifts, they have put this poster on the wall, highlighting the diversity of nationalities working at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (iii).
These members of staff are from the world. They have come to the U.K. to help, to learn and to teach. They should be valued and treasured for what they do.
Yet there are those who do not value these professional healthcare staff, purely because of the colour of their skins, their ethnicities, accents and even gender. I'm really not sure what sort of warped mindset some people have. Do they not realise that the NHS would collapse without foreign staff? Do they have any idea about the lives lost and sacrifices made during the pandemic, or do they choose to forget that, due to their blind ignorance and stupidity?
Denise is being cared for by Europeans, Africans and Asians and I'm grateful to them all for their hard work, skill, care and humanity. It's about time we all as a society recognised that, and stopped being cruel, nasty and racist to those who our lives are placed.
(ii) Wikipedia: King's Mill Hospital
(iii) Wikipedia: Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust