'It's getting worse': The rising levels of racist abuse being directed at NHS staff

A recent survey conducted by the Society of Radiographers has revealed a significant rise in racist abuse experienced by NHS radiographers over the past 18 months. The survey, which included 381 members, found that staff have been called derogatory names such as "monkeys" and "dirty foreigners", and have witnessed patients refuse to be treated by black or Asian staff.

Examples of overt racism include patients making offensive comments about the skin colour of healthcare workers, making jokes about staff's accents, and assuming that staff are not qualified due to their ethnicity. The chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, Prof Habib Naqvi, has condemned these incidents, stating that they create fear, trauma, and anxiety among healthcare workers and have a profound impact on the NHS.

Paul Awah, a radiographer based in Bedfordshire who moved to the UK from Nigeria, has also shared his experiences of patients claiming they cannot understand him despite speaking English fluently, and assuming that he is not qualified. Awah attributes the increase in racism to the current political climate and rhetoric about immigration from the far right.

Brief written by urgent.news from Guardian Health's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.