British-Pakistani MP urges govt to investigate COVID-19 deaths in minority communities

MANCHESTER: A British-Pakistani lawmaker has urged Secretary of Health Matt Hancock to investigate whether the members of ethnic communities in the UK and the staff of National Health Service (NHS) are more vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak.

MP Yasmin Qureshi, in her letter, urged the top health official to investigate the issue urgently to ensure steps are taken on time to address why more BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community members are among those critically ill.

The BAME community is 13% of the UK population.

She also asked the government to set up a task force to explore data to better understand these patients.

She further stated that no one is immune from the pandemic but structural inequalities mean that some groups will bear the brunt of COVID-19 more than others. “Socio-economic factors and cramped housing within the BAME community could be a major factor of the rise in COVID-19 cases,” she noted.

In another letter, the health secretary was urged to do more for doctors from minority ethnic backgrounds as they often struggle to get support from NHS and are considered “outsiders”.

The MP demanded a probe to ascertain facts regarding alleged inequality within the National Health Service and ensure support for BAME staff, which make up 44% of medical personnel in the service.

Recent research into the first British patients to contract COVID-19 has shown that the BAME community is more likely to be seriously impacted and end up in critical care.

The study conducted by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre found that out of nearly 2,000 coronavirus patients, 35% were non-white.

The first 10 doctors and three out of the six nurses who have died from COVID-19 so far were members of the BAME community. A hospital pharmacist and at least one healthcare assistant who lost his life during the outbreak is also from the minority ethnic background.