Health Boards must improve equality monitoring

12.11.36pm GMT Wed 26th Nov 2008

Liberal Democrat Equalities spokesperson Hugh O’Donnell MSP has urged Health Boards to tackle the low rate of ethnicity recording.

The organisation charged with producing information and statistics about the health service in Scotland found that ‘most NHS Boards have shown little or no improvement in recording’.

Commenting, Mr O’Donnell said:

“These figures show that Health Boards are failing to take account of Scotland’s increasingly diverse population. If only very limited data is recorded, then NHS Boards will struggle to ensure that the health services they provide meet the needs of the many different ethnic groups in Scotland.

“England seems to be light years ahead of Scotland when it comes to recording ethnicity in the NHS. Scottish Health Boards need to raise their game.”