NHS radiographers experience increased racist abuse from patients

A survey of NHS radiographers has found a sharp increase in racist abuse from patients over 18 months. The Society of Radiographers asked 381 members about their experiences. Staff reported being called offensive names, and some patients refused care from black or Asian workers. Others complained about foreign staff taking jobs.

A separate survey of staff on elderly care wards found that 69% of ethnic minority workers had personally faced racist behaviour from patients. Around 67% had seen patients ask for a different member of staff because of their ethnicity.

Despite how often this happened, most incidents were not challenged. Only 39% of staff spoke up when they witnessed racist behaviour. Earlier NHS data showed ethnic minority staff were four times more likely than white staff to face abuse from patients.