Jo Adu was appointed as a consultant physician and nephrologist in Birmingham in 1981. He was the first Black consultant nephrologist in the UK, and one of the trio seeking consultant jobs at the same time as Ram Gokal describes encountering his first serious racism in UK healthcare. Jo was educated in Ghana, but studied Medicine at Cambridge and UCH in London. His nephrology training was at Cambridge, Oxford, and Guy’s Hospital. The struggle to expand dialysis access to cope with demand was a major challenge that he faced with consultant colleague Jonathan Michael over the next 20 years. Their struggle to develop and expand their service included much politicking and media attention. Jo does not perceive that his racial/cultural background negatively affected his career.

The comments below mostly come from quotes in a Black History Month post at the UK Kidney Association.

I have never up until now thought of myself as a ‘Black’ nephrologist, which is a bit like calling Gary Lineker a White footballer. Now I am anxious about whether this reflects a woeful lack of insight on ethnicity on my part, but I refuse to feel guilty about that.

One bitter winter afternoon in the early 1980s doing a transplant clinic I was moaning to a patient that I could be in Ghana sunning myself. He told me “None of that. You are doing the same as I am doing- working for a wage.” He worked as a foreman in the now defunct British Leyland which was then a major carmaker in Birmingham. I have never forgotten his advice.

I was not unaware of the role ethnicity played in health care delivery and employment. I was a member of the Department of Health/Kings Fund Equal Opportunities Task Force 1986-1990 and of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Nexus Project aimed at developing culturally competent services for ethnic minority communities from 1997-2000.

I have been aware of racists, but in the main have pitied them, and certainly not let them divert me from my aims.

To my younger colleagues, regardless of ethnicity, pursue your aims and dreams and treat all people with dignity.

Short biography of Jo Adu (this website).

Last Updated on September 13, 2024 by neilturn