Number of NHS staff from diverse backgrounds reaches highest level in history

  • Watch Raveena Ghattaura's report

The number of staff from diverse backgrounds working for the NHS has reached the highest level in its history.

Around 40 per cent of staff are from black or Asian communities - that includes an increase of 9,000 doctors since 2017.

But those at a senior level including in consultant roles and academic positions remain underrepresented.

ITV Anglia's Raveena Ghattaura has been speaking to a few of those on the frontline from India at James Paget hospital in Gorleston - in the third of our special reports as part of South Asian Heritage Month.

James Paget Hospital Credit: ITV Anglia

Among those she met is Jincy Bilgy, who was inspired to become a nurse by her brother, Sorjan.

He died two months ago with coronavirus in India but Jincy says his legacy lives on through her work caring for patients in Norfolk.

Jincy said:

Jincy was one of the first nurses to come to Gorelston from south India 17 years ago to work at the James Paget.

Now, 14 percent of staff there are from 20 different ethnic backgrounds.

Health workers like Jincy make up a big proportion of NHS staff with 42 per cent of staff coming from diverse communities.

A recent report by the health service  found that the NHS workforce has never been more diverse - but when it comes to senior positions - there's still work to be done.

That's something Devender Khurana, an Orthopaedic Consultant, is trying to change.

He chairs a group which guides and supports staff from diverse backgrounds.

Devender Khurana, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, James Paget University Hospital said: