A 'racist' NHS nurse who blamed Asians for the increase in acid attacks and said burkas shouldn't be allowed in the UK has been struck off. Sarah Hewston made a series of 'abusive' remarks at Black Country Hospital but claimed she was just 'having banter' with coworkers.
Her 'ignorant' comments included telling colleagues that Asian males are guilty of grooming and 'all marry their cousins'. In another incident, she said that there are 'too many' Polish people in Britain and that the government should 'send them back', according to Birmingham Live.
The community psychiatric nurse also claimed that Eastern Europeans are benefit cheats and that foreigners always 'play the racist card'. Outside of the the hospital, Hewston shared 'offensive' post on her Facebook page, including one which said 'I am proud to be English' with a picture of a bacon sandwich in a 'clear dig' at Muslims.
She has now been banned form the nursing profession after a fitness to practice hearing concluded that her behaviours amounted to misconduct.
A report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel read: "The panel considered that there is no place for racism within the nursing profession and that her actions breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession." It added: "The panel is of the view that in this case, there is evidence of deep-seated personality and attitudinal concerns."
Hewston made the 'aggressive' comments while on shift at the Dorothy Pattison Hospital - then part of Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. She left colleagues at the Walsall -based mental health hospital 'shocked' by the remarks, which were also overheard by other members of staff in August 2018.
She told two colleagues Polish people and foreigners 'generally come over here with expectations', 'something needs to stop it' and 'send them back'. A comment claiming Eastern Europeans 'use the UK welfare system to their advantage' was made after a Polish patient shared concerns over their 'care and dissatisfaction with the NHS'.
Hewston went on to make 'derogatory' comments including that 'Asian males groom' and 'Asians and/or Muslims and/or Polish and/or foreigners are responsible for acid attacks and/or increase in acid attacks'. One workmate - who was the only Asian man in the office at the time - was left so angry and 'insecure' that he wanted to walk out of the hospital.
He said: "I am an Asian male, and so I went quiet at this point. I was speechless. I felt really uncomfortable about the whole situation. This conversation made me think about whether she felt the same about me [the way] she felt about Asian males in general."
An investigation into her conduct was launched after a colleague revealed to bosses Hewston had showed them a 'discriminatory' Facebook post about burkas before saying the garment should be banned. The probe then found she shared seven 'offensive' images and posts on her private Facebook page between November 2016 and August 2018.
This included an image of a person holding the Quran next to a picture of bacon, while other posts 'ridiculed' the holy month of Ramadan and mocked Islamic clothing. The nurse said she posted images out of 'respect for Ramadan' and blamed her dyslexia for not properly reading the text of posts she shared.
Another image of an older man and a young girl with the phrase "that’s not his daughter – that’s his wife" was just to highlight a safeguarding concern, she claimed. But the panel rejected her excuses and said her racist social media posts identified a 'common theme' reflecting a 'racist ideology' towards Muslims.
Hewston was later sacked by the trust and lost an appeal against her dismissal. She accepted she made the remarks and shared inappropriate material online but said she did not think it was 'offensive, discriminatory, or intentionally racist'.
The nurse said it was 'banter', she was being 'humorous' and trying to 'wind up' a colleague. She apologised when concerns were raised and removed the social media posts but blamed her childhood for her 'ignorance or unconscious bias'.
The nurse also took a number of online courses, including cross-cultural awareness course, in March 2019 to remedy her disgraceful behaviour. The Facebook posts were inappropriate, offensive, racist and 'liable to incite hatred', the panel ruled.
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