NHS bearing brunt of 'ugly' racism, warns Streeting

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, according to Wes Streeting.

- Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Incidents of verbal and physical abuse based on people’s skin colour happened so often that it had become “socially acceptable to be racist”, the health secretary said.

In a joint interview with the Guardian alongside the NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, Streeting told how he had 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 also criticised unnamed politicians who condoned 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.”