A review has been commissioned into possible race and gender bias in the design and use of medical devices.

This comes after NHS Race and Health Observatory published a rapid review in April, which suggested that darker-skinned patients are at greater risk of inaccurate results from oximeters due to a tendency to present higher levels of oxygen in their blood.

Pulse oximeters are used to detect early signs of dangerous reductions in oxygen levels in both hospital and community settings. They have been specifically recommended for patients who are recovering from Covid at home. 

Ministers want to know whether bias could have prevented ethnic minority patients receiving appropriate Covid treatment. 

Speaking on the Andrew Marr show yesterday (21 November), health secretary Sajid Javid said racially-biased medical instruments ‘cannot be acceptable at any level’.  

He said that the bias is ‘unintentional’ but ‘exists’ in numerous devices used by the NHS.   

When asked whether he believed people had died of Covid as a result of bias in medical devices Mr Javid said: ‘possibly yes.’.  

‘A lot of these medical devices are put together in majority-white counties and I think this is a systemic issue’, he explained.  

It follows a Government review into the disparities in risks and outcomes of Covid-19 published in June 2020 that found that the risk of dying from Covid is higher in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups than in white ethnic groups. 

The review will also consider the use of other devices including MRI scanners, which are currently not recommended for use for pregnant or breastfeeding women. The review seeks to research how to expand the scope of MRI use for women. 

An independent chairman to lead the review is yet to be appointed, but the initial findings are expected by the end of January. 

In August, NHS England updated their guidance oximeters after emerging evidence suggested that pulse oximeters produced ‘inaccurate and ambiguous readings’ for people with darker skin. 

Last year, The Pharmacist reported that Black and Asian patients with dementia in the UK received a worse quality of care than white patients due to differences in prescribing.