Incidents of racism towards NHS radiographers have increased "noticeably" over the last 18 months, reflecting increasingly hostile public attitudes to race, diversity, and immigration, according to the Society of Radiographers (SoR).

The union said it was placing renewed focus on holding NHS trusts accountable for such incidents.

Examples ranged from patients refusing to be treated by non-White staff members to failing to acknowledge their seniority or competence. Others accused foreign workers of "taking our jobs", complained that accents were hard to understand, or made comments about "dirty foreigners". 

In one witnessed case, a healthcare worker was called "a monkey".

No Guidelines on Responding to Racism 

The SoR said that approximately 21% of the NHS workforce is comprised of non-British nationals, and around 1 in 4 radiographers registered with the Health and Care Professions Council trained overseas. There are currently no guidelines on how to respond to recorded incidents of racism. The SoR said it had been working with other healthcare unions to create new NHS staff standards, published this month, which hold trusts to account for incidents of racism. Dean Rogers, SoR executive director of industrial strategy and member relations, said no NHS employee should have to put up with racism in the workplace.

The SoR called on the NHS to record racist incidents, monitor responses, and work with trade-unions to do so effectively. “We want commitment and clear accountability when it comes to addressing anything that makes the NHS an unsafe environment in which to work,” Rogers said.

The new figures mirror those in the NHS Staff Survey in March this year. That revealed that 20% of Black and minority ethnic staff reported facing discriminatory behaviour from patients or the public in the previous 12 months, compared with just 5% of White staff. Similar behaviour from colleagues, managers, or team leaders was reported by 14%, double the rate of 7% reported by White staff. 

Similarly, in May the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that new figures based on freedom of information requests to NHS trusts and health boards across the UK showed more than 21,000 incidents of racist abuse reported by nursing staff over the last 4 years, an increase of 78% in that time. The RCN condemned health leaders and politicians for allowing racism to flourish in the NHS.

A Wider Problem, Government Review Finds 

In June, the government published the Mann Review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS and healthcare regulatory system. While mainly focusing on levels of anti-Jewish racism in the UK, which it said constituted “a national emergency”, it pointed to racism generally being “deeply pervasive” and “normalised” in the NHS.

It was “profoundly troubling” that NHS staff of all religions, and Black and minority ethnic NHS staff, were “more likely to experience discriminatory behaviour at work from patients or the public than they were 5 years ago”, the report said.

Responding to the SoR's findings, Matthew Hopkins, acute and ambulance director at the NHS Alliance, said: "These findings are deeply disturbing and absolutely unacceptable.

"NHS leaders are committed to combatting racism and ensuring a tolerant, inclusive culture, that celebrates and draws strength from the diversity of the workforce. They know more needs to be done."

Dr Rob Hendry, chief member officer at the Medical Protection Society, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call. "No healthcare worker should go to work in fear of racism and abuse, and we cannot allow this to be dismissed as just 'part of the job'."

“The NHS must take a zero-tolerance approach to racism and enforce it consistently.” Staff should know that any abuse will be acted on swiftly and robustly, with incidents investigated and perpetrators held accountable, he said.

Dr Sheena Meredith is an established medical writer, editor, and consultant in healthcare communications, with extensive experience writing for medical professionals and the general public. She is qualified in medicine and in law and medical ethics.