NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp has appointed the first ever equality and human rights director for the health service.

The new director, Surinder Sharma, will spearhead the government’s drive to tackle inequality in healthcare.

He will aim to work in partnership with stakeholders in other government departments, with equality and human rights organisations and other key external stakeholders including the inspectorates.

Sharma's role will also be to tackle inequalities in all aspects of health and social care delivery.

Currently death rates rates from coronary heart disease among first generation South Asian adults are about 50 per cent higher than the national average, while black people are over six times more likely than the majority of the population to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp said: "The NHS workforce must reflect the community it serves. It must be trained and equipped to deliver responsive and accessible services for all.

"Equality and diversity need to be explicitly acknowledged and integral to all NHS corporate strategies.

"Our success in this will be judged not on what we say but on what we do, and I have full confidence that Surinder will put in place processes that will make a real difference."

Health secretary John Reid added: "We have two aims with this appointment. Firstly, to make sure that appropriate services are available to anyone in the population, regardless of their background.

"Secondly, to ensure that we can draw on the talents, skills and passion of all parts of the community.

"Surinder is a very experienced professional who will enable us to do this."

Sharma joins the NHS from Ford Europe, where he was European diversity director.

The position at the Department of Health will be full time, although he will continue to work on a consultancy basis for Ford next year.

Sharma said he was "looking forward to helping tackle the challenges the NHS faces in providing better health services to all people in need".