What relevance does diversity play in healthcare?

We are living in a diverse society with many differences in background, cultures, and beliefs yet 77.9% of NHS staff are white, leaving only 22.1% from other ethnic groups combined. Having a healthcare which can represent a wide range of experiences and background is significant due to the countless benefits it has for healthcare staffs and patients.

Having a more diverse healthcare team will give way to a more reliable and trusted organisation. The advantages lie in the public feeling more comfortable to communicate with the healthcare team due to the feeling that they are being understood and listened to. The patients being in the same ethnic, race, age or gender group to their medical staffs can cause a personal understanding between them which creates a strong sense of trust. The patients should feel supported and welcomed to raise attention to their concerns rather than being misunderstood or having their concerns unaddressed.

As a patient, it is important to be represented by the healthcare team as it empowers the patients to convey their opinions freely on their treatment plans so they are more involved in their recovery: encourages patient centered care rather than a traditional health care approach. This may lead to more patients asking questions about their treatment plan and following the advices given by their doctors which will save the NHS from unnecessarily spending money on treating the late side-effects of a disease when it could have been prevented beforehand. The NHS already ‘wastes a staggering £7.6n a year’ on unnecessary or expensive treatment which can instead be used to help other patients who need NHS funding or it can be saved to control future crisis for example pandemics like Covid-19.

Diversity not only benefits the patients but also the staffs. Surrounded by others who have similar background creates a strong sense of inclusion which leads to the workers feeling safer & enjoying their job. With the inevitable stress caused by their responsibilities as a medical staff, engaging & sharing their stress with other workers (who they feel comfortable with) can keep them motivated to continue helping patients. Therefore, this improves the productivity of the healthcare & also the mental health of the workers.

In addition to this, a more diverse healthcare means that there would be more medical staffs who can speak different languages. The UK is considered an ethnically diverse society meaning that there’s going to be a lot of patients whose first language may not be English. This could lead to miscommunications between the doctor and patient which could have serious consequences in the future. However, if the healthcare team is diverse and therefore know a myriad of different languages, it would be much easier to communicate with the patients and help them through their journeys.

Furthermore, a more diverse healthcare can shed light on what cultural or social needs are missing. By organisations addressing these needs, the workers and patients’ satisfaction would be improved and they will be more comfortable to work or stay in a healthcare environment.

Having a diverse healthcare can make a significant positive contribution to the welfare of patients and medical staffs. Therefore, it is important to promote diversity within the healthcare due to the positive impacts it has.

Written by Yarmigga Sharvesvaren