OCTOBER is Black History Month which is a time for every member of our successful, multicultural, ethnically-rich and diverse community to reflect upon and learn more about the enormous benefits that immigration has brought us.

Leading on from this, I’d like to reach out and provide you with ‘food for thought’ on how members of the black medical community have contributed to lifesaving advancements in medicine which are practised here in Worcester with a few named examples.

Dr Charles Drew was a black physician whose pioneering work revolutionised blood transfusion surgery.

He developed new ways to store blood plasma, which is the fluid component of blood, for transfusion.

During World War II he also organised the first large-scale blood bank that saved the lives of British and Commonwealth soldiers on the battlefield.

Dr Daniel Hale Williams was an African-American surgeon who was the first doctor to successfully perform open heart surgery and in so doing saved the life of a stabbing victim.

His pioneering innovative work paved the way for countless future surgeons.

Dr Ben Carson is a black neurosurgeon who performed the first successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head in 1987.

He later went on to become a potential US presidential candidate for the Republican Party.

Dr Kizzmekia Corbett is a black professor of immunology and infectious diseases who played a key role in developing the molecular and genetic-based platform, known as mRNA technology, that enabled the creation of Covid-19 vaccines that have protected and saved the lives of millions of people worldwide.

Otis Frank Boykin was a black engineer who is best known for inventing multiple different electronic control devices in cardiac pacemakers.

A cardiac pacemaker is an electronic device that sends electrical pulses to help your heart beat at a normal rate and rhythm if it beats too slowly or in an erratic manner.

Pacemakers can also be used to help your heart chambers beat in synchrony so your heart can pump blood more efficiently to your body.

Mr Boykin’s mother died from heart failure when he was one year old. Thirty-one years later he filed a patent for a resistor that paved the way for his most notable invention — the heart pacemaker control unit.

Dr Patricia Era Bath was a black ophthalmologist (eye specialist) who discovered and invented a new device and technique for cataract surgery known as Laserphaco Probe intervention.

Today the Laserphaco Probe is used on a global scale in hospitals all over the world.

It has restored sight to many individuals who were deemed blind before this invention The NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard published in 2023 shows black and minority ethnic staff make up almost a quarter of the workforce overall (24.2 per cent or 383,706 staff) — an increase of 27,500 people since 2021 (22.4 per cent of staff).

The analysis shows 42 per cent of doctors, dentists and consultants and 29.2 percent of our nurses, midwives and health visitors are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

One in five NHS staff in England are non-UK nationals which further shows the pivotal role immigrant professionals play in keeping our NHS functioning to save lives.

However, there’s still lots of work to do to achieve equality and yield the full benefits of inclusivity.

While data from the standard shows an increase in representation of black and minority ethnic staff at board level, including executive board roles, black and minority ethnic staff staff still remain proportionally under-represented in senior positions.

Additionally, black and minority ethnic staff are 1.14 times more likely to be involved in a formal disciplinary process than white staff.

Data from the 2019 NHS Staff Survey found that 15.3 per cent of black and minority ethnic staff reported experiencing discrimination from a manager, team leader or colleague, compared to less than half that of white staff.

While the significance of black history should never be confined to a single month of learning and celebration, we should all continue to work together in a collective and supportive manner towards achieving full equality and inclusiveness in our NHS.

We should continue to respect and learn from each other which will continue to improve the health of our wonderful community.

Our columnist Dr Jason Seewoodhary is a former Worcester GP.