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3 hours ago
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An “ugly” racism reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s has become worryingly commonplace again in modern Britain and NHS staff are bearing the brunt of it, Wes Streeting has warned.
Incidents of verbal and physical abuse based on people’s skin colour now happen so often that it has become “socially acceptable to be racist”, the health secretary said.
In a joint interview with the Guardian alongside the NHS England chief executive, Jim Mackey, Streeting told how he has been “shocked” hearing NHS staff, especially those working in A&E, recount growing levels of harassment, aggression and violence when their care gets delayed.
Advising the public to brace themselves for the NHS in England getting overwhelmed in the coming weeks because of a triple whammy of flu, Covid and strike action by doctors as winter descends, he admitted that patients would be put in danger as a result of becoming stuck on trolleys or in the back of ambulances – situations that are known to heighten the risk of harm and death.
“Even if you’ve got a long wait, which I know is frustrating, or you feel like you’ve been sent from pillar to post, which sadly does happen, there’s no excuse for taking that out on staff,” Streeting said.
“But the thing that has shocked me most of all is that the rising tide of racism and the way in which kind of 1970s, 1980s-style racism has apparently become permissible again in this country. I’m really shocked at the way this is now impacting on NHS staff,” he said.
He also criticised unnamed politicians who condone racism, adding: “I’m disgusted that a level of racism last seen when Britain was a very different country, 50 years ago, has made an ugly comeback and I’m frankly shocked by those in parliament who’ve leaned into it.”
His remarks come a week after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed that the number of racist incidents that nurses suffer at work has surged over recent years.
Streeting added: “I had a Labour [MP] colleague whose daughter – a resident doctor – works in a hospital where a man said he only wanted to be treated by white staff. Although she was Asian, she had slightly fairer skin. And a colleague said, ‘will you go and see if maybe he’ll accept you?’. And rightly she turned around and said ‘no, I won’t, actually. Go and tell him that he either wants our care or he doesn’t, but he doesn’t get to racially discriminate’. She made the right call.
“The NHS is not immune from the prejudices of wider society but we’ve got to take a zero tolerance [approach]. Your right to free healthcare in this country does not come with the freedom to abuse our staff on any grounds.
“We’ve got to call time on racism in this country and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that’s found expression in our country back in its box and once again create a climate in this country where it is not socially acceptable to be racist.”
Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN’s chief executive, endorsed Streeting’s remarks about politicians inflaming racial tensions. “The rise in the racist abuse that staff face is a stain on society and a stain on our NHS.
“Racism is an issue across society and is particularly pertinent in health and care services, with such a diverse workforce. We have to recognise that the increasing use of anti-migrant rhetoric in politics is emboldening racist behaviour.”
Prof Habib Naqvi, the chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said: “It’s shocking to see the levels of racism within our communities and across modern Britain today – levels that we have not witnessed for decades. We know our NHS is not immune from this scourge because it is a microcosm of wider society – what happens on our streets and within society does play out in the 1.5 million people that work in the NHS.”
Mackey and Streeting admitted that, despite the NHS in England preparing more thoroughly for winter than ever before, some trusts would “struggle” to maintain normal service during the cold spell, in which A&E units are expected to see record numbers of people seeking care.
“I want to be upfront with people, especially at a time when trust in politics is in even shorter supply than money. When there are problems this winter, and there will be problems this winter, there will be hospitals where there are people on trolleys in corridors.”
Mackey added that corridor care – highlighted graphically by Age UK last week – is “one of the things that keeps me awake at night” and “one of the horrible, visible signs of drifting standards over recent years. It’s completely unacceptable.”
He added that: “I’m really hopeful that we’ll manage it [winter] well. But it’s important to be realistic. There’s a lot of flu around, there’s been a lot of Covid around and the industrial action issue is a complexity we could do without.”
The four hospitals in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare have been on a “critical incident” – meaning emergency-footing – and receiving help from other NHS trusts since last Thursday because of an “exceptionally high demand” for care.
Some hospitals, such as those in Lincolnshire have told patients, visitors and staff in some care areas to wear a face mask from next week to curb the spread of viruses.
Resident – formerly junior – doctors in England want a 29% pay rise. Tens of thousands of them are due to go on strike for five days from 14 November in pursuit of their claim, in what will be their 13th walkout since March 2023. Their last strike in July cost the NHS an estimated £250m.
Streeting urged the British Medical Association, the main doctors’ union, to call off next week’s action. It is unjustified because resident doctors’ salaries have risen by 28.9% over the last three years, he said.
“The impact it [strikes] will have on winter really worries me. Everyone is going to lose if this goes ahead. Patients are going to suffer because of the disruption and impact on the service. Doctors and other NHS staff will suffer because they have to pick up the pieces of the disruption. And this time it will be taking place against the backdrop of winter. But resident doctors themselves [will also] lose”, he added.
