Had a long conversion with a Health Advisor who has worked in the NHS for almost 30 years, she's very experienced and passionate about her work, the things she was telling me about racial inequality was really scary., ESPECIALLY in sexual and mental health. There's been a long history of disdain for black clients accessing their services in some hospitals around London, they see accessing and benefiting from these services as a "white right"only... even if you are Black British there's resistance.
Instead of engaging with them with counselling and more extensive methods, they go the cheaper route by throwing anti-depressants at us and sectioning us in large numbers.
She described so many pressures coming at you from majority white colleagues in white departments who trivialize what it's like to be Black and have mental health issue's or access sexual health services.
So many black healthcare professionals that have been met with underhanded racism and hit with random performance targets to try and force them out if they begin to become vocal about what they see
There was a recent campaign over focusing solely on Black gay/lesbian/bi/trans people because everything here has a white face and our demographic is most at need but under presented.
They started the service by adverting their posters and leaflets at many of the clinics in London and a lot of the managers response would be "well we can't have these posters up!" "They can't be BLACK & GAY!" "It's either one or the other! "Can't have TWO negatives up!" "What would our white clients think?!"
I was shook when she told me that
You walk in a center you see a white receptionist, see a white nurse or doctor or counselor and NONE of them can relate, MOST of them don't live in London, so they can't relate to inner city culture or youth culture, never mind black culture or black GAY culture
Racial issue's or problems are brushed off as "personality clashes or misunderstandings" and they wonder why it's hard to engage with Black period in a health or outreach setting.
I don't think I can last in this field more another 5 years and that's sad because there are BARELY any black faces in health in area's where it matters most.
