Anti-Racism in Health & Social Care
Racism and racial inequality can affect people's experiences of health and social care in many ways — from communication, assessment and treatment to whether somebody feels heard, respected and able to trust the service they receive. This course helps staff recognise how racism, bias and inequality can influence care, relationships and organisational practice, and develops the confidence to respond constructively and contribute to more equitable services.
Providing the same service to everybody does not necessarily mean that everybody experiences that service in the same way or achieves the same outcomes.
Anti-racist practice asks us to consider how race, racism, bias, organisational systems and wider inequalities may affect people's experiences of care — and what we can do when barriers or disparities are identified.
Develop awareness of overt and subtle racism, stereotypes, racial bias, microaggressions and inequalities that may affect patients, service users, families or colleagues.
Consider how assumptions, communication, professional practice and organisational processes may affect people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Build confidence to respond when racism, inappropriate language, stereotyping or inequitable treatment occurs rather than allowing it to go unchallenged.
Identify practical actions that can strengthen racial equality, dignity, trust, inclusion and anti-racist practice across health and social care services.
Racism in health and social care is not limited to explicit racist language or behaviour. Inequality can also appear through assumptions, communication, established ways of working, access to services, professional decision-making and whose concerns are taken seriously.
The course encourages delegates to look beyond individual incidents and consider the wider patterns that may affect people's experiences, opportunities and outcomes.
Language, assumptions, stereotypes, microaggressions and differences in how people are listened to, believed or responded to can shape somebody's experience of care.
Policies, procedures, assessment processes, professional practice or established ways of working may create different experiences or outcomes for different racial groups.
Patterns in access, experience, treatment, complaints or outcomes may indicate inequalities that require further examination rather than being viewed as isolated differences.
Understanding cultural difference can help improve communication and care, but cultural awareness should never become a new set of stereotypes.
People who share a racial, ethnic, cultural or religious identity are not all the same. Good practice means being curious about the individual, listening to what matters to them and avoiding assumptions about somebody's needs, beliefs, family, behaviour or preferences.
A person may have particular cultural or religious needs relating to food, personal care, family involvement, communication, treatment, modesty, death or spiritual practice.
Respectful questions allow people to describe what matters to them rather than requiring staff to guess based upon somebody's appearance, name, ethnicity or perceived culture.
Delegates explore realistic situations and consider both the immediate response and what the situation may tell us about wider practice.
DURING AN ASSESSMENT
You might ask:
“What would help us understand what is important to this person rather than making assumptions about their needs?”
AFTER A COMMENT
You might ask:
“What impact might that comment have had, regardless of how it was intended?”
WHEN A PATTERN EMERGES
You might explore:
“Are people actually experiencing our service equally, and what does the evidence tell us?”
Race is only one aspect of somebody's identity and experience. People may also experience barriers connected with disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, socio-economic circumstances, immigration status, language or other aspects of their lives.
An intersectional approach helps delegates consider how these factors may combine rather than assuming that everybody from the same racial or ethnic background will have the same experiences.
The aim is to understand the whole person while remaining alert to the particular ways in which racism and racial inequality may influence their experience of care.
How somebody responds when racism is raised can affect whether the person feels heard, believed and safe to speak again.
The course explores how to listen without immediately becoming defensive, minimising what happened or focusing solely on whether harm was intended.
Give the person space to explain what happened and how it affected them without expecting them to prove every aspect of their experience.
Look at both intention and impact, consider relevant context and evidence, and avoid reaching premature conclusions.
Consider what action, support, escalation, learning or organisational response may be appropriate and ensure concerns do not simply disappear.
By the end of the course, delegates should be better able to:
This course is suitable for people working across health, social care, community and care-related services who want to strengthen their understanding of racism and develop greater confidence in contributing to equitable and anti-racist practice.
It can be particularly valuable for:
No previous anti-racism training is required. The course can be tailored to reflect your organisation, services, workforce and existing anti-racist work.
We also offer related programmes where a broader foundation, leadership focus or organisation-wide approach is required.
For organisations wanting a broad foundation in how racism operates and practical ways employees can recognise, challenge and respond to it.
View courseFor organisations wanting to develop practical allyship, including how people can use their voice, influence and privilege to support racial equality.
View courseFor leaders who need to understand their responsibility, influence and accountability for creating and sustaining anti-racist workplace cultures.
View courseAll our courses are tailored to ensure the training reflects your organisation, sector, workforce and equality priorities.
The course can be delivered face-to-face or online via Zoom or Teams.
To support participation, discussion and interaction, we recommend the following group sizes per session:
Need to train a larger workforce? No problem. We regularly work with organisations that need to train larger numbers of employees. Where appropriate, training can be delivered across multiple sessions to ensure everyone receives the same high-quality, interactive learning experience. We can develop a delivery programme to suit your workforce size, locations and timescales.
Please note: the half-day rate is not always available for face-to-face sessions.
Over 25 years' experience delivering equality, diversity and inclusion training, consultancy and professional development.
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