In this issue of the President Blog, Ranee Thakar discusses the work the College is doing to tackle the racism, discrimination, and inequalities faced by doctors in our specialism and the women we serve.
Every year in October, the College celebrates Black History Month. Black history is an integral part of world history, and this is an important opportunity to honour the achievements, resilience and contributions of Black individuals, including within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. However, we must also recognise that despite the wealth of talent and dedication that Black doctors bring to our field, experiences of discrimination and racism remain all too common.
Therefore one of my primary ambitions as President is to continue working towards racial equity within our specialty, building on the progress made by the College in recent years. Inspired and supported by the passion, insight and dedication of our membership, I believe we can create a profession where everyone has the same opportunities to achieve success and feel listened to and supported throughout their career.
The College published a new report last month analysing the findings of a UK member survey to learn more about colleagues’ experiences of bias, racism and discrimination, which you can read here. When asked what changes respondents most want to see in their workplaces, the most popular option was more career support for doctors from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Deeply worrying issues were also highlighted in the Health Services Safety Investigations Board (HSSIB) investigation report published in September, which identified widespread incidences of temporary staff experiencing racism and other forms of discrimination, struggling to access support and facing barriers to raising concerns.
Both reports underline how critical it is that the College remains focused on tangible action on racial equity, and will inform our future work. We must call out issues wherever we find them within our specialty and create a culture where all staff feel empowered to challenge discrimination. As such, in this month of reflection and action, I wanted to highlight some of the RCOG’s focus areas.
A critical strand of our work is improving the experiences of doctors new to the UK so that they feel settled, supported and valued. International medical graduates make up a core part of the O&G workforce, and we cannot afford to lose the skills they bring, so I am very proud of our work with the NHS on their IMG induction programme and the dedicated RCOG IMG hub that we have developed, which you can access here.
The College is also working hard to address differential attainment and identify how we can support O&G workforce recruitment, training and retention. Progress in this important area includes our role in clinical education, for example ensuring the new GMC approved O&G Curriculum 2024 prepares trainees to support personalised care and equitable outcomes.
I am also passionate about the transformative potential of coaching in addressing challenges encountered by medical professionals from underrepresented backgrounds, having been personally supported by great mentors throughout my career. We can tackle differential attainment through initiatives like our coaching programme and ensure greater representation of minoritised doctors. I encourage you to read this great blog by RCOG Clinical Fellow Dr Farah Siddiqui about her experience as a programme coach here.
It is critical to be able to have open and honest discussions about racism and bias. Bias is a part of being human, and everyone should feel able to recognise and engage in continual learning and reflection on it. To support our Members and Fellows in doing this, we have produced our free Tackling Racism eLearning course. This Black History Month, I encourage you to dive into the course and commit to sharing what you learn with your colleagues.
Tackling racism in our workforce is also imperative for achieving equitable and high-quality healthcare outcomes for women and girls. In September, the RCOG attended the UK political party conferences and advocated for joined-up women’s health policy-making, including a focus on eliminating racial and ethnic inequalities. We were pleased to host Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health, at our Labour party event and welcomed the commitments she outlined around the government’s future ambitions here.
Later this month, the RCOG will publish an updated policy position on racial and ethnic equality in women's health, which I hope you will read and share within your networks. Building on our UK election manifesto, this important document sets out key recommendations for NHS England and the UK government to address inequalities in Black, Asian and minority ethnic women’s health and care, including maternity safety.
Everyone has the right to safe, personalised and compassionate care throughout their pregnancy and birth, and the College is absolutely committed to playing our role in this. At our Independent Advisory Group on Maternity Safety in October, our discussions centred on health inequalities, and I am hugely grateful to the members for their expert and insightful contributions, which will continue to inform our ongoing maternity safety improvement programme.
One of the important ways we seek to deliver our role in maternity safety is through quality improvement programmes. This includes the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, to improve and personalise maternity care and reduce the risk of two significant contributors to avoidable brain injury. Launched in October, the RCOG is delivering the third phase of the programme with the Royal College of Midwives and The Health Improvement Studies Institute, which involves trialling ABC training and resources at nine selected NHS maternity units. The College wrote to UK Members and Fellows this week to invite you to join the clinical ABC network.
We also want to hear from UK Members and Fellows to inform the RCOG’s wider maternity safety improvement programme and will be posting regular questions on ‘Maternity Safety - Have your say’ page here. Thank you to everyone who responded to the first question in this series, ‘What are the three most significant barriers you face in providing safer maternity care in your day to day practice?’, which we are now reviewing.
Finally, I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming World Congress in Oman, running 15 - 17 October – where we have great sessions focused on workforce equity. Engaging with colleagues across the global O&G community is certainly one of the most fulfilling and rewarding aspects of my role. By listening first-hand to the challenges and priorities that matter most to you, the College can best serve you, so please come and say hello if you see me there!
That only leaves me to say a very heartfelt thank you for the work that you all do personally to champion respect, kindness and equality within our speciality, and for the incredible care you provide to the women and girls across the world that we serve.