From the nurses who came from the Caribbean to help set up the NHS, to their descendants, the scientists, mathematicians, allied health professionals and leaders whose action and ideas help shape the NHS today.
The history of the NHS is that of diversity – from the arrival of the Windrush in 1948 to today, the NHS has always relied on talent from around the world.
The current NHS workforce is more diverse than at any point in its history.
*Black colleagues make up 9.72% of our NHS workforce, 6.3% of doctors, dentists and consultants, and 13% of our nurses, midwives and health visitors.
Inequalities in any form are at odds with our NHS values - the fair treatment of staff is directly linked to better clinical outcomes and better experience of care for patients and service users.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that our diverse workforce truly has an equitable experience at work regardless of disability, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic.
Improving the experiences and opportunities of staff, through the NHS Equality Diversity and Inclusion improvement plan will support the NHS ambition to retain the talent we have and continue to attract more people to join our workforce.