A federation of over 40 minority ethnic healthcare organisations has written to the prime minister to call for ‘decisive action’ in response to the growing trend of racism and Islamophobia seen across the UK in recent weeks.
In a letter sent to Sir Kier Starmer yesterday the Federation of Ethnic Minority Healthcare Organisations (FEMHO), which represents ethnic minority staff in health and social care, said the recent targeting of Muslim communities constituted a ‘national crisis that demands bold and unequivocal intervention’.
The letter comes after days of riots across the UK, which were sparked by the killing of three children in Southport and fuelled by significant online misinformation and hate-speech.
The riots led to some GP practices close early and offer remote services for fears of staff safety and saw a shocking incident of Filipino emergency care nurses having rocks thrown at them.
The letter was signed by groups including the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA), British Sikh Nurses (BSN) and the Filipino Nurses Association (FNA-UK) and demanded an ‘urgent meeting’ with the prime minister.
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It said that ‘as healthcare professionals, we witness daily the profound physical and psychological damage these violent behaviours cause’.
Demands included a nationwide public awareness campaign on Islamophobia, and ‘comprehensive law enforcement reform’, including ‘rigorous training’ on anti-racism.
Outlining their proposals, FEMHO called upon all relevant government departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), to implement the below actions ‘without delay’.
Federation of Minority Ethnic Organisations demands for change:
- Comprehensive law enforcement reform – police must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to identify, prevent and respond to hate crimes, including rigorous training on anti-racism and bias
- Robust community support and engagement – significant investment ‘initiatives that promote dialogue, understanding and unity among different ethnic and religious groups. Providing robust support for victims, including mental and legal support
- Tougher legislation and enforcement – perpetrators of hate crimes must face ‘severe consequences’ and reporting and prosecuting processes must be streamlined
- Nationwide public awareness campaign – launch ‘aggressive campaigns’ to educate the public on the ‘horrors of Islamophobia and the impact is has’ and highlight the positive contributions of minority groups and debunk stereotypes
- Dedicated monitoring and supporting – establish a task force to track and report hate crimes against all minority groups to help assess the effectiveness of interventions and guide future policies.
Director and founder of BSN Rohit Sagoo said the letter was needed to ‘safeguard’ nurses, doctors and midwives and highlighted the vulnerability of staff working in primary and community care.
‘The level of violence that we’ve seen over the last week and last weekend, has really ignited some old memories for people that lived here for very many generations,’ he said.
‘Staff are going out on their own, they’re coming back in the early hours of the morning, and anything can happen between that time.’
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The FEMHO described the recent riots and rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes as a ‘national emergency’ which requires parliament to be recalled to deliver a ‘coordinated political response’.
Policy and public affairs officer at BIMA Dr Naomi Green warned of how internationally educated nurses had been targeted in recent violence.
‘With being on the front line, there’s a high level of internationally trained nurses that have been more disproportionate than in other parts of the UK, and they have been bearing the brunt,’ she said.
Dr Green believes that ‘Islamophobia has always been downplayed in the past’, and that the depth of its impact needs to be acknowledged.
‘Islamophobia impacts all of us, no matter what our occupation or what our position in society. So, I think it highlights on one hand, how impacted healthcare workers and doctors are because they’re on the front line, but also how widespread this can impact everyone in our communities and regardless of their job.’
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Speaking in a post on X last week the health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said minority ethnic health and care workers ‘are there for our country and we need them’, assuring ‘Britain will always be your home’.
He added: ‘We have a zero-tolerance approach in the NHS, and we’ll take a zero-tolerance approach in social care too. Anyone racially or violently abusing NHS staff or care staff, can and should be turned away.
‘This government will make sure that anyone guilty of these crimes will suffer the full force of the law.’
