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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warns

A healthcare worker in blue scrubs walks down a hospital corridor with other staff visible in the background
Nurses across the UK reported over 6,800 incidents last year in which they suffered racist abuse, NHS figures show. Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

Racist abuse of NHS nurses has jumped by 86% in the last few years, which their union’s boss has blamed on the normalisation of extreme views in politics and the media.

One nurse was called a monkey by a colleague, a patient threw a hot drink at a nurse and followed up with racial abuse, and in several cases others were called the N-word, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed.

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