An investigation by The Telegraph has found that at least 11 major hospital trusts around England have schemes or programmes focused on ‘helping ethnic minority employees to gain promotions to senior roles'.

These include initiatives such as ‘reverse mentoring' and ‘white ally training', as well as dedicated development opportunities for ethnic minorities.

In addition, NHS guidance, revealed by the newspaper, encourages all recruiters to ensure that there is a black or other ethnic minority candidate on all interview shortlists.

The move stems from NHS England's Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), which requires hospitals to report on the ethnic make-up of managers and directors and encourages action so that the roles reflect the wider NHS workforce and community.

The NHS has a target of ensuring its leadership is representative of the overall black and minority ethnic workforce by 2028.

An NHS England spokesman told The Telegraph: ‘NHS services should only ever recruit the best candidate for the job – irrespective of race – and it is obviously right trusts ensure their recruitment practices are fair and equitable so excellent potential NHS staff don't miss out on roles due to discrimination.

‘The vast majority of job applications are made through NHS Jobs, which is anonymised at all stages until interview, and individual trusts are responsible for setting and following their own recruitment policies, which support recruitment of the best people for the role.'

A DHSC spokesman told the newspaper: ‘Any schemes looking to improve equality must always be fair, with jobs given on merit, and employment legislation must be followed. Equality and diversity initiatives should not be box-ticking exercises. Instead, we need to tackle the very real health inequalities that exist in Britain today, as well as the abuse and racism NHS staff face.'