NHS Staff Report Rise in Racist Abuse from Patients

NHS radiographers are reporting a worrying increase in racist abuse from patients, with healthcare workers describing incidents ranging from racial slurs to patients refusing treatment from Black and Asian staff.

A survey of 381 members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) found a noticeable rise in overt racism experienced or witnessed over the past 18 months. Respondents described patients using offensive language, questioning staff qualifications based on ethnicity and making discriminatory comments during appointments.

Examples reported in the survey included patients referring to staff as “dirty foreigners”, making jokes about a radiographer’s headscarf, and refusing to be treated by Black healthcare professionals. Some staff also said patients claimed they could not understand them despite them speaking fluent English.

Paul Awah, a radiographer working in Bedfordshire, said he has experienced patients pretending not to understand him because of his background and believes increasingly hostile public attitudes towards immigration are contributing to the problem.

The findings reflect wider concerns across the NHS. The latest NHS Staff Survey found that around one in five Black and minority ethnic staff reported experiencing bullying, harassment or abuse from patients or members of the public, compared with around one in twenty White staff.

Health leaders have condemned the abuse. Professor Habib Naqvi, Chief Executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, described the findings as a stark reminder that racism continues to affect healthcare workers and called for a consistently enforced zero-tolerance approach across the NHS.

NHS England has also introduced new national staff standards requiring organisations to take stronger action to prevent and respond to racism. The guidance makes clear there should be consequences for patients who racially abuse staff, including the option to refuse non-emergency treatment where appropriate.

For many NHS professionals, the message is clear: caring for patients should never mean accepting racism as part of the job.

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