NHS launches virtual reality training as 'powerful' way of tackling racism at work

A black nurse called Tunde is told by his manager that personal protective equipment (PPE) was being locked away at night to prevent its theft on night shifts during the pandemic, when ethnic minorities were more likely to work these hours.

- Tobi Thomas

An Asian female doctor called Jasmine is dismissed by an HR manager after raising a double standard regarding requests for shift changes during the pandemic over childcare, something which her white colleagues were granted.

These are among the scenarios of discrimination depicted in a new form of training for NHS staff designed to create better understanding of the experiences of colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The training, called "Walking in the shoes of..." involves participants wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset to watch videos depicting instances of racism and discrimination by actors within an NHS setting.

The clips are based on the transcripts of 133 interviews with NHS employees describing their experiences of racism while working, collected during the Tides study, a project by academics at Kings' College London that researches how instances of discrimination within the NHS are related to health inequalities.