NHS told to employ more middle men

NHS Lothian employs too many men in the lowest and highest positions and not enough in the middle, a report has found.

The health board's own Equality and Human Rights scheme for the next three years found there was a "strong gender imbalance in the workforce" with males totalling only 21 per cent of staff.

The study also found that hardly any disabled workers registered their situation, possibly because they didn't feel confident disclosing their disability because of career prospects.

Disabled people also report higher than normal levels of bullying and harassment, health chiefs added.

The ethnic balance within workers is "appropriate" for the Lothians area - about 4.7 per cent, although the NHS did say it was aware it wasn't proportional with the population it served, with a greater emphasis on African staff than Pakistanis.