Leading through the harm – what to do when your team faces racist abuse

The latest NHS staff survey highlighted an unacceptable reality. One in five Black and minority ethnic staff are subject to racism from patients and 14% experience similar harassment from colleagues.

From verbal attacks by patients, to incidents on the journey to and from work, many staff from ethnic minority backgrounds are navigating environments that simply don’t feel safe. This has real consequences on wellbeing, retention and whether people feel able to fully show up at work.

Leaders and managers are often left holding difficult questions:

• What does meaningful support look like when harm is ongoing, not isolated?
• Why do current responses, even when well-intentioned, fall short?
• What does it take to create safety when parts of the system feel unsafe?

This free online lunch and learn will be a space to reflect honestly on the impact of racist abuse and focus on what leaders can do differently. It will explore how leaders can offer protection, respond with clarity and build conditions to help staff feel safer and more supported.

Join if you want to:

• strengthen your response to racist abuse in real situations
• move beyond policy into practical leadership
• understand what meaningful support looks like from a staff perspective
• lead in ways that actively contribute to safety, not just intention.
  

There will be time at the end for a Q&A session.