Overview
- Trust bosses report that prominent flag displays have left Black and Asian NHS workers feeling excluded and have coincided with aggression toward staff on community visits.
- One nurse was filmed, followed and subjected to days of abuse after asking people installing flags to move so she could access her parking bay, according to a senior leader.
- An NHS Providers survey found 45% of senior managers are extremely concerned about discrimination from patients and the public, and chief executive Daniel Elkes urged a shift in the public narrative given the NHS’s diverse, internationally recruited workforce.
- Royal College of Nursing leader Professor Nicola Ranger said anti-migrant rhetoric is fuelling racism and warned that lone-working community nurses feel especially vulnerable, pressing employers to bolster protections.
- The Department of Health and Social Care condemned intimidation and urged reporting threats to police, while FOI data show councils have spent more than £60,000 removing flags since the summer.