"it’s a poor reflection on us as a society."
NHS staff have reported a rise in racist abuse from patients, with healthcare workers being called “monkeys”, labelled “dirty foreigners” and refused treatment because of their ethnicity.
The Society of Radiographers (SoR) said incidents of racism from patients have become “noticeably” more common over the last 18 months.
Staff also reported hearing anti-immigration remarks and discriminatory comments directed at colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The professional body is now calling on the NHS to formally record incidents of racism and monitor how organisations respond.
A new poll of SoR members found some healthcare workers have come to accept racist abuse as “something they have to put up with”.
Dean Rogers, executive director of industrial strategy and member relations at the SoR, said:
“The rise in incidents of racism over the last year and a half is unconscionable and unacceptable and it’s a poor reflection on us as a society.
“The NHS has a diverse workforce, which is one of its strengths.
“We are clear: discrimination, harassment, racism, bullying or intimidation, whether expressed verbally or in behaviour, is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS.”
Responses to the survey highlight a pattern of racist behaviour experienced by healthcare professionals across England.
- One radiographer spoke of “patients describing healthcare staff as dirty foreigners”.
- Another said: “I have witnessed a colleague being called a monkey by a patient.”
- A sonographer reported that a white man refused to let a sonographer scan his pregnant wife, saying: “I don’t want anyone from any ethnic background touching my woman.”
- On another occasion, a patient arriving for a chest X-ray refused to let a black radiographer conduct the X-ray, stating: “Black people frighten me.”
- One therapeutic radiographer working in Yorkshire told the SoR: “I felt it had happened to them so much that they just accepted it as something they had to put up with.”
A sonographer of Asian descent working in the Midlands said several patients had told her:
“This country isn’t the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs.”
Stating that racist incidents have increased in the last 18 months, she added:
“It’s become more prevalent – it’s in the media and certain political parties and TV channels, so people are openly expressing their views.”
The latest NHS Staff Survey also suggests discrimination from patients is increasing.
Published in March, the survey found that 9.26% of NHS staff in 2025 said they had personally experienced discrimination from patients or service users during the previous 12 months. That is the highest level recorded in the last five years.
The figure has risen steadily from 7.91% in 2021 to 8.38% in 2022, 8.57% in 2023, 9.25% in 2024 and 9.26% in 2025.
Mr Rogers said: “Racist behaviours undermine patient care and go against our shared values of integrity, equity, courtesy and openness.
“We want commitment and clear accountability when it comes to addressing anything that makes the NHS an unsafe environment in which to work.
“Together, we want to ensure that the NHS is safe, inclusive and proud of the diversity that makes us stronger.”
Responding to the findings, Thomas Simons, chief human resources and organisational development officer at NHS England, said:
“Racist abuse towards NHS staff is completely unacceptable and has no place in our health service.
“Our new national staff standards are clear that NHS organisations must take meaningful action to prevent and respond to racism, support affected staff and ensure there are clear consequences for patients who racially abuse or discriminate against NHS staff, including the option to refuse care in non-emergency situations.”
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