Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Racist abuse against minority NHS staff rises, survey reveals
The NHS is the health service in Britain that helps people when they are sick.
Many of the people who work there come from different countries and backgrounds.
A new survey found that some of these workers are being treated badly because of the colour of their skin.
Some patients have even refused to let black or Asian workers treat them.
Others have said mean things like 'dirty foreigners' and 'monkey'.
This kind of unkind treatment is called racism, and it is wrong.
The survey says it has become more common over the past year and a half.
Leaders say the NHS needs these workers and could not work without them.
Some workers feel so upset that they get sick or leave their jobs early.
The NHS says patients who are racist could be refused care when it is not an emergency.
A Society of Radiographers survey found racist abuse against NHS staff has become more open and frequent over the past 18 months.
Patients have refused treatment from non-white healthcare workers, with some using terms such as 'dirty foreigners' and 'monkey'.
Around 21 per cent of the NHS workforce are non-British nationals, and one in four registered radiographers trained overseas.
Experts link the more overt abuse to increasingly hostile political and public debate around immigration and nationality.
NHS England says new national staff standards require action against racism, including clear consequences for abusive patients such as refusing care in non-emergency situations.
- Who
- Ethnic minority and migrant NHS staff, particularly radiographers, surveyed by the Society of Radiographers
- What
- A survey revealed racist abuse against NHS staff has become more frequent and overt, including patients refusing treatment from non-white workers
- When
- Over the past 18 months; findings published last Monday (3)
- Where
- Across the NHS in Britain
- Why
- Experts link the rise to increasingly hostile debate around immigration and nationality in political and public discourse
- Survey body
- Society of Radiographers
- Non-British nationals in NHS workforce
- Around 21 per cent
- Radiographers registered in UK trained overseas
- One in four
- Indian doctors and medical staff in NHS
- Around 45,000
- Total NHS employees
- More than 1.5 million
- Ethnic minority and migrant share of NHS workforce
- 30 per cent
- Time period of increase
- Past 18 months
- Society of Radiographers membership
- More than 30,000