The Society of Radiographers has garnered national attention from national news media following its report about a rise in racist incidents within hospitals.
Following the release of results from the SoR’s ‘Racism in the Workplace’ survey earlier this week, media organisations includingITV, The Guardian, Sky News, The Independent and The Telegraph have reported on the findings.
The survey, which ran from January to February this year, collated personal experiences of racism from SoR members and received 382 total responses.
'This has to stop'
Dean Rogers, executive director of industrial strategy and member relations at the SoR, was interviewed on ITV’s Good Morning Britainon the topic on 4 August.
He said: “This has to stop. There has to be measurable improvements. Not just recognition of the problem, but there has to be action taken and support put in place to make sure that racism is not acceptable.”
The SoR published the results from the survey on Tuesday (3 August), alongside stories from radiographers who had experienced racism in the workplace.
SoR member Paul Awah, a Bedfordshire-based Diagnostic Radiographer originally from Nigeria, appeared in national media sharing his experiences.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Paul said: “Based on the way the person was looking at me, being suspicious of whether I know what I’m doing and being uncomfortable being attended to by somebody of colour, it makes you develop something you’d call an imposter syndrome.”
'Racist abuse has no place in the NHS'
One respondent to the survey said they had witnessed a patient describing healthcare staff as “dirty foreigners,” while another said, “I have witnessed a colleague being called a monkey by a patient.”
Members told the SoR that incidents of racism have risen significantly over the last 18 months, alongside the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric.
In response to the survey, Ben Morrin, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “The findings from this survey on the experiences of racism faced by healthcare workers are absolutely unacceptable. Racist abuse has no place in the NHS. No one should have to come to work and experience discrimination or prejudice.”
The SoR is calling for the NHS to record incidents of racism and monitor how they are dealt with, working with trade-union partners to ensure this is done effectively. There are currently no guidelines for what should be done once an incident of racism is recorded. It is also seeking a more developed programme for inducting, orientating and integrating new staff, whether they have moved nationally or internationally.
In addition, the SoR will provide training for its reps, so that they can uphold the new staff standards with confidence.
Find out more about the SoR’s Racism in the Workplace survey online here now.
(Image: Photo by Stephen Smith, via Getty Images)