The Mann review on antisemitism and racism in the NHS was published a few days ago.
Amongst the recommendations are:
- NHS boards and leaders should be held accountable for race equality and staff experience metrics, as part of the recently added score in the NHS Oversight Framework (NOF) that will support compliance with the new NHS Staff Standards.
- there should be board-level oversight of all investigations related to racism through annual reporting on volume, themes, outcomes and timelines, deep-dives into hotspots or repeated patterns, and assurance that recommendations are implemented and monitored.
- some political identifiers can and do cause distress to patients, and employers should develop local policies to be clear about what is acceptable. In order to create an inclusive NHS, upholding the aim of everyone feeling safe to seek and receive care, NHS England should update national uniform guidance, in line with reviewing broader guidelines for those in the NHS using its name, logo or branding, including in relation to social media accounts.
- all staff, including volunteers and sub-contracted staff, should be made fully aware of and have easy access to the documents, contracts and agreements that contain details of the expectations on them with respect to anti-racism, discrimination and fostering an inclusive NHS culture, including the NHS constitution, leadership and management standards (once published), and any volunteer agreements or codes of conduct.
- the Care Quality Commission (CQC), working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), should make greater use of powers to inspect NHS organisations on their equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) performance, against patient inequalities and for staff workforce, under the ‘well-led’ domain. In doing so, it should ensure that NHS boards and leaders are held accountable for delivering the staff standards as reflected in the NOF, including how organisations handle racist incidents and the effectiveness of reporting systems. More broadly, DHSC should consider how CQC might enhance its assessment of all NHS organisations for EDI performance and the role of the organisation’s leadership in addressing racism. As referenced in the section of this report on reporting and investigation of racist incidents, this should include the handling of racist incidents.
- health and care professional regulators should work together to develop communications for patients and the public to raise awareness of what is being done to tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism more widely and who they contact if they have a concern.
- this work is urgent and must be a priority. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care should oversee and report back on this work within 6 months and include an assessment of progress on implementation within their annual report to Parliament
- the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care should further use its powers to set guidance for all health and care professional regulators on equality, diversity and inclusion matters.
- health and care professional regulators, including the General Medical Council and the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service should work with the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care to develop a clear process for securing expert advice on relevant fitness to practise decisions, particularly where they involve matters relevant to those with protected characteristics, to support cultural awareness and learning among relevant decision makers.
- on 13 May 2026 the national UK health and care professional regulators signed up to the NHS Race and Health Observatory principles of antiracism to help tackle racism. Each regulator should report back within 6 months of the publication of this report on how they propose applying and embedding these principles.
- the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care should convene fitness to practise staff across health and care professional regulators to probe their approach to cases involving racism, including antisemitism and discrimination. With complaints potentially arising from staff, patients, volunteers, contractors, students and members of the public, consistency is required.
- there must be mandatory training for the approximately 400 chairs and chief executives of NHS provider trusts on antisemitism, anti-racism and building on the Macpherson principles, within the next 6 months.
- the leaders of the UK health and care system and professional regulators should ensure they undertake similar training, if they have not already done so.
Following the Government’s acceptance of the recommendations of the Mann review and last month’s anti-racism statement by the General Pharmaceutical Council, which sets out a zero tolerance approach, the GPhC has welcomed the Mann report. The GPhC says it will “prioritise reviewing and implementing the recommendations for health professional regulators. We will also carefully consider the review’s findings and recommendations as we review and update our standards and guidance.”