Almost three out of four Covid-19 deaths of healthcare workers are from Black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME) backgrounds, new figures have shown.

The high level of BAME victims of Covid-19 is causing considerable concern because people from such backgrounds make up less than half of NHS medical staff - 44 per cent.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ainsworth has challenged Matt Hancock to issue a statement about the high levels of deaths among BAME healthcare workers.

Among those NHS medics to have died of Covid-19 was Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, pictured left, who passed away after battling the virus for 15 days

Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Amged El-Hawrani, pictured, died on March 29 in hospital in Leicester. He was described by his family as a 'loving and much-loved husband, son, father, brother and friend'. He worked at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Hancock said the government had commissioned a study into the disproportionate number of BAME victims and will publish its findings once completed.

He said: 'In the same way that there is a disproportionate number of men who are badly affected by this disease compared to women we need to look at all these characteristics and make sure we have the full analysis so we can learn.'

Figures released on the ethnicity of all patients who died in hospital linked to Covid-19 in England showed 19 per cent were from BAME background - a similar number to the proportion of ethnic minoority people in the wider population.

Among those who died was Consultant Urologist Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, who had warned the prime minister five days before his admission to hospital about the shortage of PPE.

Mr Manjeet Singh Riyat, left, was the first Sikh to be appointed as an Emergency Consultant in a UK hospital. He worked at the Royal Derby Hospital

Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Amged El-Hawrani died on March 29 in hospital in Leicester. He was described by his family as a 'loving and much-loved husband, son, father, brother and friend'. He worked at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.

Josephine Peter died on April 18 having tested positive for Covid-19. Ms Peter had been working as an agency nurse at Southport and Formby District General Hospital where she died.

Mr Manjeet Singh Riyat was the first Sikh to be appointed as an Emergency Consultant in a UK hospital. He worked at the Royal Derby Hospital.

Dr Habib Naqvi, NHS director for workforce race and equality told Sky News: 'The fact that a high number of black and minority ethnic staff are dying from this pandemic is a worry for us.

'It's a challenge for us but we need to rise to that challenge and what we need to do is look at what we can put in place right now to support our staff.'

So far, Covid-19 has claimed the lives of more than 70 NHS staff, including hospital consultants, nurses, porters and domestic workers.

NHS England provides breakdown of BAME Covid-19 figures Separate figures from NHS England, using data up to 5pm on April 21, show that of 16,272 patients in hospitals in England who had tested positive for Covid-19 at time of death, 74.1% were of white ethnicity, 15.7% were of BAME ethnicity and 0.7% had mixed ethnicity. The remaining 9.4% had no stated or identifiable ethnicity. Figures do not add up to 100% due to rounding. The 15.7% figure for BAME ethnicity breaks down as: Indian 3.0% Pakistani 2.0% Bangladeshi 0.6% Any other Asian background 1.5% Caribbean 2.8% African 1.8% Any other black background 0.9% Chinese 0.4% Any other ethnic group 2.7% Advertisement

Prof Gurch Randhawa of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire said the government has failed to consider Britain's diverse population when planning its Covid-19 response.

He said: 'COVID-19 has hit the BAME population hard, both in the community and among healthcare staff. This is well publicised in other countries, for example the US but in the UK we are still playing catch-up. For example, approximately 35 per cent of intensive care admissions for COVID-19 are of BAME origin, partly due to a greater prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular conditions, when only 14 per cent of the UK population is BAME.

'Throughout the pandemic the government has consistently failed to undertake a proper equality impact assessment of its response to COVID-19.

“We also know that some BAME nurses and healthcare assistants in the NHS often receive poorer treatment than their colleagues, a well-documented phenomenon backed by decades of research. In the context of the present crisis this means they may have worse access to PPE, more trying shift patterns and greater exposure to COVID-19 patients.

'The government has failed to appreciate that the UK’s diverse population requires lockdown measures that recognise the economic and social inequalities experienced by BAME communities. For example, as part of the lockdown strategy the government advised that places of worship close; the BAME community is on average more religious and religious centres play a much greater role in alleviating food poverty.

'A more sensitive approach would have either proactively ensured that places of worship adopted a takeaway method for safe food delivery to people’s homes, or provided clear advice as to how people experiencing food poverty could safely collect food from places of worship.

'The final reason for longer term health inequalities that may be experienced by BAME communities, is the switch to video and phone consultations as the main way to access primary healthcare during the lockdown.

'The patients least able to adapt to these new methods are likely to be poorer than average and disproportionately BAME. We need to urgently review these primary care arrangements to ensure that all patients are able to negotiate access to medical advice via phone or video consultations, otherwise many patients who require healthcare will delay seeking help for a number of months.'