Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Section of Public Health

As a young man, Dr Rafik Gardee was no stranger to racism.Under the apartheid regime in South Africa, he was treated as a non-citizen and allowed to help only black and Asian patients.The experiences he encountered during hisseven years in the country led Dr Gardee into a career as a dedicated fighter of bigotry.Now he is director of ethnic minorities at the Public Health Institute of Scotland, with the task of studying racial equality policy in the NHS north of the Border.In an exclusive interview with The Scotsman, Dr Gardee described how he has faced racism during his 25 years working for the NHS, and he insisted it is only recently that the health service attempted to put its house in order, as far as the issue is concerned.Dr Gardee, who is also a public health consultant with NHS Greater Glasgow Primary Care Trust, said: "In the last few years, particularly the last two years, there has been a development.Before that, it [racism] was swept under the carpet.It was a very slow change in the first two decades".

diet, ethnic minorities, oral health, qualitative methods.