The NHS is advertising a senior equality role with a salary of nearly £123,000 just days after Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned that diversity drives in the health service have gone too far.
An "Associate Dean" position, focused on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), offers a salary equivalent to the entry-level pay of up to three NHS doctors or four nurses.
The South West-based role allows 60 per cent remote working - and focuses on ensuring "equal opportunities" for medical students from different backgrounds.
Multiple NHS organisations have recently posted EDI positions, including a Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion role at NHS North East London tasked with ensuring "EDI is central to all agendas".
Streeting had recently warned that some NHS equality initiatives had become misguided
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Meanwhile, several other EDI or DEI positions have been advertised with salaries reaching £90,000 or more.
Additional roles offering up to £50,000 have also been listed, with salaries exceeding the starting wage of NHS medical professionals, according to the Mail.
In total, more than 35 such roles have been advertised since Labour's election victory.
Streeting recently warned that some NHS equality initiatives had become misguided, citing an example of a psychologist who advertised a job placement promoting "anti-whiteness".
"What the hell does that say to the bloke up in Wigan who's more likely to die earlier than his more affluent counterparts down in London," Streeting said.
BRITAIN'S WOKE NHS - READ MORE:
As many as 35 woke roles in the NHS have been advertised since Labour's election victory
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The Health Secretary added that while racial inequalities in health need addressing, "ideological hobby horses need to go".
William Yarwood of the TaxPayers' Alliance said the public was "sick and tired of seeing six-figure salary EDI roles in their NHS".
"Multiple health secretaries going back years promised to do something about the growth of EDI roles in the NHS, and yet the amount of woke non-jobs grows by the day," he added.
The think tank has called on Labour to abolish the roles entirely - and redirect the funding towards patient treatment.
Previous attempts to curb NHS EDI recruitment have proven unsuccessful, with former Conservative health secretary Steve Barclay's 2023 order to halt specialist EDI hiring being ignored by health chiefs.
Professor Karol Sikora, a retired oncologist, recently criticised an £80,000 EDI role in North East London on social media - he said: "If it were up to me, every penny spent on these jobs/schemes would be diverted to frontline staff."
An NHS England spokesman said trusts should work to address inequalities for both patients and staff, while avoiding "tokenistic gestures" that don't improve patient care.
They added that such roles should focus on "boosting staff retention and helping all NHS staff to be effective in their work".
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