Racism against NHS staff worsens amid anti-immigrant rhetoric: Survey

London: "Dirty foreigners" and "monkey" are among the abuses hurled at non-white medical staff in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) due to worsening racism, a new survey has found.

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) surveyed its members about their experiences of racism at work and were told that such incidents increased noticeably over the last 18 months amid a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric. The professional body revealed that NHS workers have also had to deal with some patients refusing to be treated by non-white medics.

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"The rise in incidents of racism over the last year and a half is unconscionable and unacceptable - and it's a poor reflection on us as a society," said Dean Rogers, SoR's executive director of industrial strategy and member relations.

"The NHS has a diverse workforce - which is one of its strengths. We are clear: discrimination, harassment, racism, bullying or intimidation - whether expressed verbally or in behaviour - is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS," he said.

Indians have been consistently logged as the largest cohort of internationally trained medics employed in the NHS, making up around 45,000 of its over 1.5 million staff.

A sonographer of Asian descent working in the Midlands region told the SoR survey that several times when she was conducted scans patients have commented along the lines of: "This country isn't the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs."

"It's become more prevalent - it's in the media and certain political parties and TV channels. So people are openly expressing their views," she is quoted as saying.

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Approximately 21 per cent of the NHS workforce is made up of non-British nationals, and around one in four radiographers who are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council were trained overseas.

Following its survey, the SoR said it will be placing renewed focus on holding all NHS trusts accountable for incidents of racism, so that they not only record the incident, but also monitor how it is dealt with and work with trade unions as necessary.

The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the UK's largest representative body for doctors and nurses of Indian origin, has repeatedly condemned discriminatory and racist behaviour within NHS ranks.

"Ethnic minority doctors and other healthcare professionals have played an irreplaceable role in building the NHS and continue to provide high quality healthcare services every day to patients, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, country of birth or political views. They deserve to be treated with respect and to be able to do their work without being threatened and attacked," it stated.