More than 21,000 incidents of racist abuse were reported by nursing staff across the UK over the last four years, with a 78% surge in that time, according to research by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The union warned the true figures are likely to be 'far worse' as many trusts and boards did not respond to Freedom of Information requests, and many nurses do not report incidents due to lack of faith in employers or fear of retaliation.
Black nurse Neomi Bennett, who works in southwest London, told The Mirror that patients have told her they want a 'white nurse' to treat them or do not want her touching them. The 53-year-old said the rise in abuse reflects British society, pointing to Tommy Robinson's far-right Unite the Kingdom march. She recalled: 'I've had patients that have told me that they don't want me touching them. I've been working on a hospital ward before where a patient said that they wanted a white nurse.'
The RCN's research also highlighted examples of a nurse having a hot drink thrown in their face, a patient posting on social media criticising staff for not being 'white or British', and a patient's family saying they did not want black people caring for their daughter. One nurse was told by a senior colleague that they did not like Indian people, while another heard comments about Muslim staff not being allowed to pray during Ramadan.
Around 75,000 internationally educated nursing staff have arrived in the UK in the past five years. The RCN has criticised anti-migrant rhetoric by politicians, saying it emboldens racist behaviour. The union's general secretary, Professor Nicola Ranger, will demand standardised incident reporting across NHS employers, stating: 'Nursing staff are the lifeblood of our NHS and social care too, made up of every nationality and ethnicity, coming together to care for patients every day.'
