Early insights into ethnicity and health equity

Early insights from Healthwatch Medway’s project exploring equity in Health and Social Care

We know that people from ethnic minority groups often report poorer experiences with health and care services, and experience worse health outcomes compared to those who are White British. At a national level, health and social care regulators have recently committed to shared anti-racism principles, showing that there is a growing acknowledgment that tackling race inequalities requires collective accountability, and is key to ensuring health and care services are truly inclusive.

EK360’s data indicates that people who identify with mixed or multiple ethnicities are 75% more likely to report a negative experience of their general healthcare than people in other ethnic groups. Additionally, across Kent and Medway, feedback from Black, Black British, African or Caribbean people about general healthcare was 70% more likely to be mixed in sentiment compared to people in other ethnic groups and, from White or White British people, 36% more likely to be positive.

Healthwatch Medway is working on a project exploring how residents perceive their treatment within health and social care services, with the aim of understanding similarities and differences in experiences across Black, Asian and White British communities.

Responses from Medway residents using local services so far have already shown differences in perceptions of equity between ethnic groups:

• White British people were overrepresented among those who feel health and social care treat all people with equity.

• People from Black backgrounds were 1.5 times as likely as White British people to say that health and social care do not treat all people with equity.

Why it matters

While many Medway residents are experiencing treatment that feels fair, a number of residents, particularly from ethnic minority backgrounds, are experiencing treatment that makes them feel dismissed and not listened to, which is actively influencing their behaviour (avoiding or delaying treatment and paying for private health care). With inequalities as a key focus in the NHS 10 year plan, local insights like these are essential for reducing health inequalities and ensuring local services are equitable and accessible for all.

EK360 will support Healthwatch Medway to continue public engagement for this project throughout May and June, with a full report to be published in September/October 2026. We will be using lived experience insights to help co-produce recommendations that will be included within the report, and we would love key stakeholders in the room to help build recommendations that will enable a more equitable health and care system.

If you are interested in helping to create this change, please get in touch with us at enquiries@healthwatchmedway.com.