Race row as top UK health boss says mum got 'Black service, not an NHS service'

The country's most senior Black health leader has said his mum received a "Black service, not an NHS service" before her death.

Lord Victor Adebowale believes his mum faced NHS discrimination and worse care because of the colour of her skin. Grace Adebowale, who worked as an NHS nurse for 45 years, died in January after a traumatic visit to A&E. Lord Adebowale, who is the chairman of the NHS Confederation, the membership body for NHS organisations, said his mum lived in pain for many years and was only diagnosed with suspected cancer after a biopsy was taken post mortem.

During an emotional interview, he told the Mirror: “She lived to 92 and you think ‘she had a good innings’ but for a lot of those years she lived in some discomfort. The reason I’m mentioning it is that it’s still the case that if you look like me, or shades of me, you’re more likely to discover you’ve got cancer in A&E. That for me is an example of two different services.

“You only have to look at the stats. Across all the major disease categories Black people have a worse experience and worse outcomes. My mother is a fairly solid example of a systemic problem. And it’s important that people like me are not seen as above it all, because I’m not, I’m in it… I’m sick of it and I’m sick of it not changing.”

Grace Adebowale came to the UK from Nigeria as a young nurse before dedicating her career to the NHS working in maternity, mental health and acute hospital services. She and her husband settled in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where Victor grew up. The 62-year-old Life Peer is one of the most influential people in the NHS and its most senior Black leader as well as a government adviser.

Lord Adebowale revealed his experience when delivering the opening address at the NHS Confed Expo conference in Manchester this week, telling thousands of medics and health leaders he had “experienced the culture of the NHS for myself”. He told delegates: “It was not the dignified death that we would have wanted for her. It wasn’t the death she deserved. So it makes me clear about the need to address the inequity. I think she got a black service, not an NHS service.”

NHS data shows Black women are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth. People from African and Caribbean backgrounds are more likely to have mental health issues and less likely to receive treatment.

Becoming tearful when speaking afterwards, Lord Adebowale said: “She presented in A&E in a very poor condition. It was a very, very busy day at the hospital and there wasn’t any space for anyone. And there had to be a negotiation to get her a space, which you shouldn’t have to do.”

He added: “It made me angry because how can you live that long with something and not be [diagnosed]. It looks like she had lung cancer. She never smoked and lived a very healthy life. I just think there are too many situations where people who look like me, and different shades of me, don’t get the service.”

Lord Adebowale said that he did not want to blame anyone, but he said that he wanted to highlight a "systematic problem", adding: “If you’re in A&E and it is under stress then it’s really difficult. It’s not because people are cruel or nasty or don’t want to do a good job. The first thing that goes is care. People deal with what’s in front of them in the best way they can.”

He added: "It is not acceptable that someone who looks like me, on average, waits 20 minutes longer in A&E than white patients. To achieve an inclusive, equitable NHS we need an inclusive equitable culture from top to bottom."

Lord Adebowale said he was reluctantly speaking out because since becoming a public figure he has had “racists sending me emails, trying to find out where I live”. He said: "And my mum, I think, God bless her, I think she would have wanted me to say it." He added: “I know people have chronic diseases, and they don’t know they have them, then they die from them. I know it’s more likely to happen if you’re Black and more likely to happen if you’re poor. If you grow up in Dagenham your healthy life expectancy is 55 and if you live in Richmond Upon Thames it’s over 78. It’s all part of a systemic problem.”

Lord Adebowale also highlighted the example pulse oximeters which estimate someone’s oxygen levels and were vital in knowing when Covid-19 patients needed emergency care. It was later discovered that they over-estimated the oxygen levels of Black people.

Lord Adebowale was one of the first individuals to become a People's Peer in 2001 for his work helping the homeless and people with addiction and mental health problems as chief executive of charity Centrepoint and then care organisation Turning Point. He has advised the Government on issues including mental health, learning disability and the role of the voluntary sector.

The Peer established the NHS Race and Health Observatory in 2021 to try and tackle inequalities experienced by black and minority ethnic patients in healthcare.