Time to be active bystanders on racism against NHS staff

Last weekend, the combination of hysteria from politicians about immigration saw the latest inevitable consequence, ironically reported in two tabloids who have relentlessly run headlines about immigration for years. Their headlines included “Vile moment racist couple attack nurse and order their dog to 'kill' her”  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15049341/Racist-couple-British-NHS-nurse-boat.html

Apple Moorhouse, a nurse of Filipino descent and a British resident for 15 years, has worked in the NHS for 12 years. She suffered a pulled rib and bruised hands after being dragged by the hair and pushed to the ground in Manor Heath Park in Halifax by a woman claiming to also be a nurse. She was with her parents and six and 11-year-old daughters and asked a couple to control their dog which made her youngest daughter feel "unsafe and scared". 

In response, the couple hurled water and grabbed the nurse's hair, asking her whether she came to Britain by a "rubber boat". She said the couple found it amusing that the dog made her daughter uncomfortable, telling her to "shut up, f*** off and go back to where you came from on the dinghy boat."  Footage filmed by the nurse and her daughter shows him urging his small white dog to "kill" her as it barked aggressively. Another video shows a white woman saying she "will kill her" before aggressively grabbing her hair and snatching her phone, before falling to the floor herself. 

When Apple Moorhouse responded that she was a healthcare worker the man told her to "f*** off". The woman warned Ms Moorhouse mocked her qualifications, claiming she could be in a higher position than the nurse – saying she was an SRN.

Yorkshire Police say the couple has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated assault.

We are seeing a return to the overt racism many experienced in August 2024.That racism was met by Wes Streeting condemning "mindless thuggery" the aftermath of the Southport stabbings over the past week and said people who are racist to NHS staff "can and should" be turned away  https://news.sky.com/story/uk-riots-people-who-are-racist-to-nhs-staff-can-and-should-be-refused-care-health-secretary-says-13192215

The Downing Street response to the current wave of racism is a deafening silence or worse.

The NHS has a particular responsibility to respond robustly to the current situation. 28% of NHS staff are of BME heritage. Many have come to this country at the explicit invitation of the NHS which would collapse without their contribution

Secretary of State Wes Streeting needs to repeat his message of last August 2024 and tell NHS England tackling racism is not an optional extra but a top priority, He said then that

“People who are abusing NHS staff can be turned away, and should be turned away, if that is the way that they are treating our staff”

It cannot be left to those facing these attacks and abuse to lead the response.

So what must happen? Here are ten essential steps:

• Secretary of State Wes Streeting needs to repeat his message of last August 2024 and tell NHS England tackling racism is not an optional extra but a top priority, He said then that

“People who are abusing NHS staff can be turned away, and should be turned away, if that is the way that they are treating our staff”

• NHS England (Jim Mackey and Penny Dash) should reissue the helpful guidance issued by their predecessors to every Board last August and instruct every NHS Board to ensure every single member of staff sees it. Last time many managers and staff were not even aware of the guidance. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-response-to-2024-riots/

• Every single NHS Trust Board needs to be proactive and ensure every single member of staff of BME heritage has a check in with managers to ensure they are safe at work, on their way to work, and at home and respond accordingly. They need to make sure every member of staff – and contractors - are clear that race discrimination will be treated as gross misconduct

• Every HR team in every NHS organisation needs to ensure Board instructions are acted on – but this is not just an issue to be dumped on HR. All senior leaders must ensure their teams prioritise this.

• Every Chief Nurse, Chief Medical Officer and Chief AHP must talk personal responsibility to lead on this issue, ensuring in particular that staff at risk of abuse are given full support including if patients are racially abusive.

• Every trade union needs to ensure that every NHS organisation is acting on this issue and every local representative knew what their employers have been told to do– that was certainly not the case last time

• Every professional regulator needs give leadership and ensure any registrants who are racially abusive are removed from practice – they could start with the thug who attacked Apple claimed to be an SRN.

• Any Board member who fails to act on such a moral imperative is surely a candidate for the Fit and Proper Persons Framework.

• Above all, every member of NHS staff and every potential patient (that is all of us) needs to be supported to intervene when racism of any kind occurs or seems likely. It cannot be left to those suffering detriment to be left to respond to it.

The current events should prompt us to tackle the deep-seated race discrimination in the NHS that we have signally failed to do.  Doing so is not an “optional extra” as I pointed out earlier this year https://www.rogerkline.co.uk/post/not-an-optional-extra-the-price-of-not-tackling-race-discrimination-in-the-nhs

This is not just about looking after individual NHS staff. It is about the future of the NHS. Should significant numbers of BME staff and potential recruits decide this country is not safe for them we will all be in an almighty mess. We are nearly there but we need not be