The Royal Berkshire Hospital has defended its spending on inclusion and diversity roles as 'vital', after a national newspaper investigation attacking the 'woke' jobs. 

The NHS is spending million of pounds on roles that the Sun on Sunday has called 'woke' jobs, including 'politically correct, non-frontline services'.

According to figures from the end of last year, there was an annual spend of £13million on 336 diversity roles across the country.

Among them was Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust spending £307,181.

Now the Trust has responded to the investigation with a statement to The Reading Chronicle, defending its staff as providing 'key' work in supporting Reading and Berkshire's wide range of communities. 

RBH has four members of staff who focus on inclusion and diversity for a proportion of their time, according to the hospital, with a spend associated to it of approximately £60,000. 

Their work involves supporting both patients and staff.

Reading has a very diverse population, with 46 percent of residents now belonging to 'a Black and Minority Ethnic community', according to Reading Borough Council. 

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is 'proud' that its 7,000 staff from come from 107 countries, caring for one million people who speak around 100 languages, according to a spokesperson from the Trust. 

They said: "It is vital that the services we provide are accessible and meet the needs of the whole community. And it’s equally important that our employees feel valued and respected, and protected from harassment or abuse.

"To the Trust, this goes hand in hand with enhanced performance and the provision of safe and high-quality patient care.

"Current initiatives include our community engagement programme where we go out into our diverse communities to carry out full NHS health checks to spot the early signs of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, and refer them for on-going support or treatment."

Last month, the hospital's chief executive said the staff are 'losing the battle' against a constant need for repairs, as staff and patients report collapsing ceilings, cancelled operations, and a stretched maintenance budget. 

The Trust currently has around £5 million - out of a £25 million capital spending pot - to deal with maintenance and backlog works, according to the hospital chief.