Muslim NHS workers report rise in racist abuse since far-right riots began

The head of an association representing Muslim health workers has said it has recorded an increase in racist abuse since the beginning of the far-right riots last week, with “unprecedented” fear among NHS staff.

Dr Salman Waqar, the president of the British Islamic Medical Association (Bima), which represents about 7,000 healthcare staff, said health workers had been left in fear and affected personally and professionally.

Waqar said: “I’ve seen some really terrible messages, particularly coming out from Belfast and in Greater Manchester, of people having to close up their GP surgery early, of people being trapped in their practices, of people having to take taxis back and forth from work, people not going on home visits, people working remotely from home, there’s too many to mention and to count.”

He shared a video and screenshots of text messages from NHS staff, who contacted him about the abuse they had faced in the past week including being called a racial slur and an individual threatening to “kill this Muslim man”.

Waqar said: “From our perspective, in terms of our members reporting how fearful they are, reporting how they’re having to think twice about what they do, international colleagues questioning whether or not they have a future in the UK. That is unprecedented, I’ve never seen anything like this before. In terms of the volume, in terms of the strength of feeling, there is no comparison to it.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 August 2024