DOCTORS are demanding that recommendations of a report on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black and ethnic minorities (BAME) be put in place immediately. 

Public Health England’s (PHE) report, which included submissions from more than 4,000 people, found that historic racism may have contributed to the high number of BAME deaths from the virus. 

It listed seven recommendations, which include developing risk assessments for BAME workers in high-risk roles and improving ethnic minorities’ access to healthcare and other public services. 

The British Medical Association (BMA) said today that it was “critical” that risk assessments are now carried out. 

BMA chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul told the BBC: “It's important we now move forward and deliver those changes because it's the fair and right thing to do for our population.”

He said that 90 per cent of doctors who have died from Covid-19 were from BAME backgrounds. 

The PHE report suggests that historic racism in the NHS may mean that individuals are less likely to speak up with concerns over a lack of PPE. 

The report also suggests that hostile-environment policies may have contributed to the devastating trend because they deter migrants seeking healthcare, with some fearing they could be deported if they went to a hospital.

Zoe Gardner of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants told the Morning Star that these policies, which require migrants to pay up-front charges and prove their immigration status, “put lives at risk during a pandemic.” 

"For this government it seems some lives matter much less than others,” she said. 

PHE’s second report on Covid-19 inequalities was eventually released on Tuesday following controversy over its delay and accusations that the report’s explosive contents were being purposefully withheld.