|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
British doctor alleges anti-white bias26 November, 2007 A consultant has alleged that white male doctors in the United Kingdom are being denied bonuses because of “reverse discrimination” by the National Health Service (NHS). Dr David Rosin, former vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, has complained that female and ethnic-minority medical consultants are being given preferential treatment to meet “artificial quotas.” According to a report in the website timesonline.com, Dr David Rosin’s remarks are likely to trigger a controversy over whether policies aimed at promoting equal opportunities in NHS have led to “positive discrimination.” “Figures show a dramatic rise in the number of women and ethnic minorities winning merit awards over the past five years,” Dr David Rosin claimed. They can add up to £73,000 to a consultant’s annual salary of about £112,000. Dr Rosin says he failed to get the top ‘platinum award’ award for the 10th consecutive year despite his application being supported by the Royal College of Surgeons and the NHS Trust. Dr. Rosin said he was turned down despite being the editor of an international medical journal, having edited 16 textbooks and over 100 peer-reviewed medical papers. The website timesonline.com quoted Dr David Rosin as saying, “When I asked a previous president (of the Royal College of Surgeons) why I had been unsuccessful, the answer came back immediately: ‘What do you expect? You are not black, you are not female, and you have all four limbs.” According to media reports, Health Ministers in the United Kingdom and chiefs of the National Health Service have been encouraging more women and ethnic minorities to apply. Supporters say that earlier most of the extra payments went to an “old boys’ network” of sometimes “mediocre” white male consultants. Dr David Rosin, who retired from his post at he NHS as a senior consultant surgeon at St Mary’s NHS Trust hospital, London, however, says the practice of encouraging women and ethnic minorities has now turned into positive discrimination. Reports say that about half of Britain’s 33,000 consultants receive an award at some level, ranging from £2,850 to £73,158. The scheme costs the NHS nearly £250 million a year. Reacting to Dr David Rosin’s remarks, Dr Aneez Esmail, professor of general practice at Manchester University, denied that standards had been compromised. He said research done by him in 1998 had showed that few women and ethnic-minority consultants got the awards. Dr Aneez Esmail elaborated, “More women and ethnic minorities are successful, but the actual standards are not compromised. Previously, mediocre white candidates were getting awards and you really had to be quite exceptional as a woman or ethnic minority to get an award. With more transparency and clear criteria, there is greater competition and more women and ethnic minorities are successful. People like Rosin may lose out.” Dr Aneez Esmail’s research, conducted in 1998 and published in the British Medical Journal, showed that white consultants were given 95% of bonuses despite making up just 74% of the eligible consultant workforce. Non-white consultants earned a mere 5% of bonuses despite constituting 14% of the eligible consultant workforce. A follow-up paper released in 2000-2001 found that white consultants received 37% more bonuses than nonwhite consultants and men gained 25% more bonuses than women. However, data pertaining to 2007, released by the Health Department, shows that the percentage of women applicants succeeding in getting bronze awards, worth about £34,000 on top of their annual salary, is now equal to that of men.
|
|
|
|
|
|
