More
than quarter of overseas nurses working in the UK have been abused or harassed
because of their colour.
In
a survey of 612 Filipino nurses working in the NHS, carried out by the union
Unison, 27 per cent said they had faced discrimination at work.
Despite
this, a third of respondents said they intended to continue nursing in the UK
for 10 years and nearly 30 per cent wanted to stay 15 years or more.
Unison
head of nursing Gail Adams said: "We are delighted that so many Filipino
nurses like working in the NHS and want to continue to do so, but the number
reporting racial harassment has risen. This is a worrying trend and we don’t
believe it is isolated to overseas nurses.
"While
we recognise steps have already been taken by the Department of Health to tackle
the problem, we believe that by working together we can do more to eradicate
it."
Other
findings:
•
72 per cent of Filipino nurses oppose a moratorium on Filipino nurses coming to
work in the UK
•
85 per cent found the adaptation course useful
•
90 per cent would recommend working in the NHS to a friend in the Philippines
•
65 per cent of unionised Filipino nurses are members of Unison; 35% are members
of the RCN
•
The worst things about nursing in the UK were listed as: weather, food and
discrimination
•
The best things about nursing in the UK were listed as: pay and independence
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