Unison was very pleased to co-sponsor an award again this year and I enjoyed the high-class event at Grosvenor House on 19 November 2007, writes Mike Jackson

However, I was disappointed to see that attendance at the event was again overwhelmingly white. The awards did not reflect the diversity of staff and managers that work in the NHS and your supplement underlined the point that all the winners were white.

I do not for one minute believe that this is because of any drive to discriminate, but the exclusion of black and ethnic minority staff from the awards is an issue that, in my view, HSJ needs to address if we are going to recognise health service excellence that is truly inclusive.

Mike Jackson is senior national officer (health) at Unison.