NHS boss claims Nigerian mother got the ‘black service'
An NHS boss has claimed his Nigerian mother received the 'black service, not an NHS service' after dying from suspected lung cancer.
Lord Victor Adebowale, chairman of the NHS Confederation, which represents all health organisations, said the death of his 92-year-old mother was 'undignified'.
His mother Grace, who worked as an NHS nurse for 45 years, died in January, possibly from lung cancer, but it was not detected until after she died.
Lord Victor said there were 'too many situations where people that look like me and shades of me don't get the service'.
'It was not the dignified death that we would have wanted for her. It wasn't the death she deserved,' he told the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester.
'So it makes me clear about the need to address the inequity. I think she got a black service, not an NHS service.'
Mrs Adebowale emigrated from Nigeria to Scotland in the 1950s and worked as a nurse across mental health, maternity and acute care, during her career.
Lord Victor, who grew up in Wakefield, said that he did not want to blame anyone for her death as the details were not yet clear, but he said that he wanted to highlight a 'systematic problem'.
'She lived to the age of 92 and you may think, 'well, she had a good old innings', but for a lot of those years she was in some discomfort, and it looks like she died from cancer,' he said.
'It's still the case that if you look like me, you're more likely to discover that you've got cancer in A&E, and that for me is an example of two different services.'
'Black people have worse outcomes'
He added: 'I used the phrase 'black service'... you only have to look at the stats – across all the major disease categories that we talk about, black people have a worse experience and worse outcomes – we've known that for years, I'm not saying anything new.'
He said his mother was an example of a wider issue and he was 'sick of it not changing like everyone else, and I'm close enough to it to know that it happens'.
He said there was nothing in his mother's medical records to suggest she had cancer, and that she had gone to A&E in 'poor condition' at a hospital that 'was really struggling when she went in'.
Lord Victor said his sister had to argue for their mother to be given a room but that they had not found the reason for her death yet.
'We haven't got to the bottom of it, and that's why I'm not blaming anybody, and I don't want to, but I can talk about my experience and my observation of what happened to my mum,' he said.
'How does that happen? I know it does happen. People have chronic diseases and people don't know and they die of them – I know it's more likely to happen if you're black, it's also more likely to happen if you're poor.'
Of his mother, whose full name was Grace Amoke Owuren Adebowale, and who worked in various nursing sectors including mental health, acute care and maternity, he said: 'If you are a nurse, it is what you are, it's what you're born to do.'
He went on: 'It is not acceptable that someone who looks like me, on average waits 20 minutes longer in A&E than white patients.'
Kate Seymour, head of external affairs at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the story highlighted 'the heartbreaking reality for some when it comes to accessing cancer care in this country'.
'It is categorically unacceptable that some people with cancer are having worse experiences simply because of who they are or where they live. The Government in England has a unique opportunity in its upcoming cancer plan to revolutionise cancer care,' she said.
An NHS spokesperson said: 'Everyone – no matter their background – should receive the best NHS care possible.
'That's why we are working across the NHS to ensure that happens – from improving access to cancer diagnosis and treatment, to expanding health checks for Black and Asian communities and increasing uptake of blood pressure and cholesterol medication in under-served groups.
'But we know there is much more to do, and tackling health inequalities will form an important part of the upcoming 10 Year Health Plan.'
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