Health leaders have warned that St George’s flags displayed across parts of England are creating “no-go zones” for NHS workers, with some staff reporting harassment and intimidation.

Several NHS trust chiefs said staff felt unsafe when travelling in communities or visiting patients’ homes, particularly during periods when the flags were prominently displayed.

It comes as a poll of senior managers found 45% were extremely concerned about discrimination towards NHS staff from patients and the public, while a further 33% were moderately concerned.

One trust leader, speaking to journalists anonymously, said there were issues around “how we work into the community” and that nurses often enter people’s homes alone. “We saw during the time when the flags went up – our staff, who are a large minority of black and Asian staff, feeling deliberately intimidated.

“It felt like the flags were up creating no-go zones. That’s what it felt like to them.”

He added that his trust had seen “individual instances of aggression towards staff”.

Another NHS trust leader said one member of their staff, who is white and has mixed race children, had asked some people putting up flags to move so she could park her car. “The individuals filmed what was happening, and then followed her, and she continued to receive abuse over a series of several days, not because she objected to the flags, but because she disturbed them,” they said.

The leader said the “springing up of flags everywhere has created another form of intimidation and concern for many, many of our staff.”

NHS and Union Leaders Condemn Abuse

Daniel Elkes, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts, said: “The NHS has relied on overseas recruitment for a long time to ensure we have the right workforce. We have a really diverse workforce and without that you can’t deliver the NHS.

“We are trying to recruit from the very places where we provide healthcare so the intake into the NHS is representative of British people from more diverse backgrounds.”

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing staff dedicate their lives to caring for others, and too often they are faced with the most appalling hatred and intimidation.

A sustained campaign of anti-migrant rhetoric is fuelling a growing cesspool of racism, including against international and ethnic minority nursing staff, without whom our health and care system would simply cease to function.

“Those working in the community feel especially vulnerable and employers have a duty to ensure they are protected.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There is no place for intimidation, racism or abuse in our country or our NHS. Instances of threats and aggression towards staff or their families should be reported to the police.

“We value the diversity of our NHS, which relies on the skill and dedication of hardworking staff from all backgrounds. They must be treated with dignity and respect.

“Our flags represent our history, our heritage, and our values. They are a symbol of our nation and belong to all of us – not just some of us.”