Muslim health workers have been subject to an increase in racist abuse since the start of the far right-inspired riots last week.
According to Dr Salman Waqar, president of the British Islamic Medical Association, which represents about 7,000 medics, health workers were facing an unprecedented level of fear in the UK and had been affected personally and professionally.
Earlier this week, at the height of the disturbances, the CIPD urged employers to take measures to keep workers safe. Anticipated violence on Wednesday did not materialise as the police and counter-demonstrations increased their presence at locations where the far right were expected to gather. However, police have said they have intelligence pointing to further, more sporadic, violence in the days ahead.
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Waqar said GPs in certain cities, notably Manchester and Belfast, had had to shut their practices early, take taxis to and from work, and avoid home visits.
He showed the Guardian text messages from NHS staff, who contacted him about the abuse they had faced in the past week including being called a racial slur and an individual threatening to “kill this Muslim man”.
Waqar said: “From our perspective, in terms of our members reporting how fearful they are, reporting how they’re having to think twice about what they do, international colleagues questioning whether or not they have a future in the UK. That is unprecedented, I’ve never seen anything like this before. In terms of the volume, in terms of the strength of feeling, there is no comparison to it.”
Chief executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, acknowledged the damage of the far right protests on morale: “We shouldn’t let dedication to duty disguise the fact that for many NHS workers, seeing this flare-up of racism will leave them feeling afraid and unwelcome.”
The British Egyptian Medical Association (Bema), which represents about 11,000 health workers, said it had also witnessed a rise in racist abuse and intimidation.
Bema said the atmosphere had led to increased absenteeism and lower morale and was affecting workers’ ability to provide healthcare. It added: “Our members, especially those working in frontline healthcare roles, have expressed heightened concerns about their safety and wellbeing in light of these incidents. The environment has become increasingly hostile, contributing to significant stress and anxiety among medical professionals.”
The London ambulance service also revealed on Monday that some staff were “reporting an increase in racial abuse and hostility from a small minority”. In response the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said on Wednesday that people who were racist to NHS staff “can and should” be turned away.
NHS employers must “urgently support migrant and ethnic minority staff” as far right riots and racist violence continue to take place across the UK, health leaders have said.
In one of the worst incidents involving health workers, rioters threw rocks at Filipino nurses who were on their way to work in Sunderland, after being called in as emergency cover. This led the British Medical Association to call on NHS employers to “urgently support migrant and ethnic minority staff” as the unrest continued.
Bima and the NHS Muslim Women’s Network have urged NHS institutions to specifically acknowledge Islamophobic abuse.
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