SALISBURY District Hospital is to focus on recruiting more people over the next year from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities to senior management levels.

Just over nine per cent of the hospital’s workforce described themselves as from the BME communities.

Of the 9.3 per cent, almost half (43 per cent) are in the lowest paid roles (band 4 and below) while 38 per cent are on midrange bands (band 5 to 6) and one fifth (19 per cent) are in the highest paid roles (band 7 and above).

The Office for National Statistics estimates 4.7 per cent of the Wiltshire population as BME.

At a Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust board meeting earlier this month, the hospital’s head of equality and diversity, Pamela Permalloo Bass, presented an annual report on the workforce relating to the period between April, 2015 and March, 2016.

* The average mean salary for women is £27,402 compared to £35,753 for men.

* Of the men working at the hospital, 13 per cent work in the highest paid roles (band 7 and above) compared to 10 per cent of women.

* 85 per cent of staff describe themselves as heterosexual with one per cent identifying as LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender) and 14 per cent choosing not to disclose their sexual orientation.

The government Equalities Office states between five and seven per cent of the population consider themselves as LGBT.

* Of the hospital’s female workforce, 40 per cent are full time and 60 per cent are part time while 70 per cent of male staff are full time and 30 per cent are working part time.

Speaking about one of the objectives for the coming year, Ms Permalloo Bass told board members: “We would want to be seeing this time next year some change in our NHS jobs data which looks at our BME workforce and their appointments and shortlisting.”

As part of an action plan the hospital is to pilot BME observers at the interview stage.

* In 2015, the hospital had 38,355 female patients and 37,894 patients. Eighty three per cent were white, three per cent from a BME community while 14 per cent did not specify.

Twenty two per cent of patients were aged 19 or below, 49 per cent were aged between 20 to 60, and 29 per cent aged 60 and above.