Shocking 55% Surge in Racist Attacks on UK Nurses – What Is Happening?

The number of racist incidents reported by nurses in the UK has risen sharply by a startling 55 per cent over the past three years. According to an analysis by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), more than 1,000 calls for advice and support are expected from nursing staff this year, up from just under 700 in 2022.What is particularly troubling is that these are not isolated outbursts but part of a growing pattern of hostility directed at those caring for others. Nurses who come to the UK from abroad or belong to ethnic-minority groups increasingly find themselves confronted with bias, exclusion and overt racial hostility.

Racism Increasing Against Nurses in UK

According to reports, at the heart of the RCN's findings lies a disturbing truth: the very people who ensure public health are being met with prejudice. The analysis shows that the number of reports has climbed by 55 per cent over three years. Reports include scenarios where a nurse on annual leave was told by her manager she should not have come to the UK, and another who was told by a colleague: 'I want to remind you that you're not one of us.' Such remarks send a chilling message that some staff are not truly seen as part of their workplace community. Another nurse was subjected to abuse from a patient and their family, who refused treatment because they said they did not want 'people like her' attending them and referred to her as a 'slave'. These incidents highlight how racism is infiltrating environments that should ideally be safe and inclusive.

What Should Be UK's Response?

The RCN's general secretary described the trend as a 'mark of shame' for the health and care services. She further said,

'Every single ethnic minority nursing professional deserves to go to work without fear of being abused, and employers have a legal duty to ensure workplaces are safe. These findings must refocus minds in the fight against racism.'

'If health and care employers fail to make their workplaces a safe environment for nursing staff, it is unsurprising that those same staff leave and their services are [left] less safely staffed,' she explained.

'The reality is that our health and social care system only functions because nursing staff of every ethnicity, nationality and faith make it so. We are urging the government and politicians of all parties to recognise their role in tackling racism – and that must include an end to the use of anti-migrant rhetoric, which only risks emboldening racist behaviour,' she said.

The Department of Health and Social Care responded that the figures are 'shocking' and unacceptable, acknowledging that the NHS depends on nurses from all backgrounds and that discrimination will not be tolerated. But acknowledging is only the first step. Tackling this issue requires employers to develop stronger mechanisms to protect staff, ensuring safe reporting, swift investigation, and organisational cultures that actively reject racism. If change does not happen swiftly, the cost will not only be borne by the victims of racism but by the health and care services as a whole.