Without a Care: Racial Capitalism Is at the Heart of the National Health Service

Healthc Pap. 2023 Jul;21(3):36-42. doi: 10.12927/hcpap.2023.27193.

Abstract

In response to the arguments put forward by Dryden (2023), this paper discusses the disproportionate toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on racially marginalized communities - particularly, Black healthcare workers. There were numerous reports in the media that Black people were being treated poorly by healthcare providers and that Black healthcare workers felt poorly protected compared to their white counterparts. This paper argues that the National Health Service has been maintained through a system of racial capitalism. The author proposes that to address racial health inequity a more in-depth understanding of our shared colonial history is required.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Capitalism
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Racial Groups
  • State Medicine*