The National Health Service - the most cherished of British public institutions - has always depended on diversity. Without the contribution of immigrant doctors, nurses and other health service workers, it would not have been possible for the NHS to have become an important symbol of the meaning of fairness and equality in modern Britain.

Despite this, the NHS has not itself dealt successfully with the increasingly socially and culturally diverse Britain which it serves. Health inequalities have affected many black and Asian Britons, particularly in areas like mental health.

In this pamphlet, Britain's leading policymakers on health and race issues ask how the NHS should respond. They set out what new thinking on the most effective ways of tackling institutional racism and ensuring genuine equity in healthcare should mean for the future of the NHS. They challenge the idea that uniformity of provision will guarantee equity - and argue that greater choice and more power for patients will be essential to delivering healthcare that is fair, and seen to be fair, in today's Britain.

About the authors:

• John Reid is Secretary of State for Health.
• Trevor Phillips is Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality.
• Summary and recommendations