We are proud to share NBT's Anti-Racism Pledge - a bold and necessary step in our ongoing journey to create a truly inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for all. This pledge has been shaped by the powerful and honest voices of our colleagues, shared through staff listening events. These lived experiences have highlighted the urgent need for change - not just in words, but in meaningful, sustained action.
Our statement
Racism exists in our society, in the NHS, and here at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT). This is not acceptable, and it is our duty to be the positive change we want to see.
Racism harms lives. It affects mental and physical health, damages trust, worsens the experiences of our staff and leads to poorer care and outcomes for our patients. It is a form of trauma that must be addressed. We see racism in interactions between colleagues, between staff and patients, and especially towards staff who are black, Asian, brown, dual heritage, and or have been racialised as ethnic minorities. We now refer to them as being part of our ‘global majority’, representing approximately 80% of the world's population.
At NBT, we are committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation.
Our staff survey, HR data, and feedback from staff and equality networks show that ethnicity-based discrimination has increased over the last five years.
We recognise that we are starting from a place of inequality. White British staff and patients often experience privilege and power that those from the global majority do not, simply because of the colour of their skin, the way they sound, their hair type or name. We must name this truth in order to change it.
NBT is proud to serve a diverse Bristol community and to have a workforce representing over 100 different ethnicities. But simply being diverse is not enough. We must celebrate this. We must create a culture where everyone feels safe, heard, respected, and proud to belong.
We are guided by our values in this approach:
- Caring – for our patients and each other.
- Ambitious – always striving to improve.
- Respectful – recognising every person’s value.
- Supportive – working together as one team.
We are at the beginning of our journey. Becoming anti-racist means more than not being racist. It means taking action. It means listening, learning, challenging and changing.
Our goal is to actively challenge the policies, processes, behaviours and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions. In achieving this we must show compassion as we educate ourselves and our patients to be reflective, honest and humble about what we don’t know and what we sometimes get wrong.
Building an understanding of each other’s cultures and lived experiences will help unlock our personal and systemic biases so we can start to dismantle them. Empathy, healing and growth must be the way forward.
We have heard from our staff, who have told us what matters:
- A culture of openness and inclusion.
- Training, tools, and education for all.
- Safe ways to report racism and clear action when it happens.
- Supportive spaces and strong leadership.
- Honest conversations about bias, privilege, and power.
- Allyship, mentoring, and fair career opportunities.
- Better data and accountability.
- Action, not tokenism.
We also know that fear and hierarchy stop people from speaking up. That white staff need support to be effective allies. That language matters. And that we must consider how race intersects with gender, disability, and other characteristics.
We pledge to:
- Build an inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong.
- Provide training and tools to understand and challenge racism.
- Create safe spaces and clear processes to report concerns.
- Support staff from global majority backgrounds to thrive.
- Hold leaders accountable for progress.
- Work with patients and communities to tackle health inequalities.
- Be transparent, listen, and act on what we learn.
- Live our values every day.
This is our collective responsibility. Together, we will create a healthcare community free from racism, prejudice and all forms of discrimination.
We are just getting started. But we are committed to the journey. And we will not stop until everyone at NBT feels safe, heard, valued, and proud to belong.