Research

This report, produced in partnership with the University of Leicester, the University of Nottingham, and UCL, presents the first six-monthly update on the REACH-OUT programme, outlining the rationale and methodology that will drive the work. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a large fall in hospital activity such as consultations, scans, tests and operations across England leading to a huge backlog in routine hospital care with an estimated seven million patients waiting to begin hospital treatment. The report outlines how people from Asian groups, in particular, experienced a much larger fall in planned hospital care during the pandemic than people from White, Black or Mixed ethnic groups.

The Observatory has published its much anticipated rapid review into ethnic health inequalities across a range of areas including key priorities set by the independent health body. Ethnic inequalities in access to, experiences of, and outcomes of healthcare are longstanding problems in the NHS, and are rooted in experiences of structural, institutional and interpersonal racism. This report is the first of its kind to analyse the overwhelming evidence of ethnic health inequality through the lens of racism.

This report represents one of many steps needed to help understand the factors that shape race inequality in health, including the forces of structural racism and discrimination, and to begin to respond to them with impactful changes. Knowing how the system works, and how it interacts with underserved communities, is an important step towards rebuilding that system in a way that truly has equality at its core. We invite those reading this report to join us on that journey.

Pulse oximetry is a simple, cheap, and non-invasive means of testing the level of oxygen in a person’s blood.