PATIENTS at East Lancashire Hospitals are being asked to record their ethnic background to help improve care and ensure everyone is treated fairly.

All NHS trusts are required to record each patient’s ethnic group because it is said the information can prove crucial to doctors in helping them diagnose and predict the likely development and complications of many conditions. It can also help staff identify those who might need translation services or other support.

Rineke Schram, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust medical director, said: “Patients can understandably feel that there is no need for clinical staff to ask for this information and it can be a sensitive issue for some people.

“However, a huge range of conditions, including blood disorders, some cancers, diabetes and heart diseases, are more prevalent in some ethnic groups than others, and can have differing effects in people from different ethnic backgrounds.

"So if your doctor knows where your family comes from, that information can point them in the right direction.”