"A lot of the time, patients would ask if they could see someone who was either a specific gender, primarily female, or a specific race, primarily white.”

This was the experience of Neema Ghorbani Mojarrad MCOptom, optometrist and Associate Professor at the University of Bradford, when he worked in rural practices. “In the different places I’ve worked, there have been different responses from the employer and practice staff,” he adds. “Some said, no, we can’t discriminate against our staff. But some obliged entirely, so as not to upset the community they rely on, but also because it’s going to be a negative experience for all if they force it.”

The experience left Neema, who sits on the editorial board for Acuity, feeling “upset, the first time it happened”, though he hardened to it over time. “It knocks your confidence and sense of value to your employer,” he says. “Especially for the practices that were so casual about it. If I was perceived as less desired by the patient base, then would I be at greater risk of being let go?”