GP practice staff 'faced Islamophobic death threat' during riots

A GP practice was forced to shut its doors after a man threatened to kill a member of staff at the height of Islamophobic and racist rioting earlier this month, GPonline has learned.

The incident took place during the week beginning 5 August, according to British Islamic Medical Association president Dr Salman Waqar. He said he had heard from a fellow GP - who did not want to be named - that a man entered a practice, saw two members of staff, who are from ethnic minorities, and said: ‘I want to kill that Muslim man’. Police were called, the practice closed its doors for the day and staff worked from home. 

Dr Waqar, who is also a GP, told GPonline that "this kind of incident is obviously racist and it is very clear that it is Islamophobic". He warned that people working in general practice who are Muslim and from ethnic minorities - who may not have been personally on the receiving end of verbal and physical abuse during the riots - are still suffering from the psychological after-effects.

He said that most people were 'appalled and horrified' by the rioting seen in parts of the UK - but warned that there was a need to talk about the fact that these events had left people who are Muslim and from ethnic minorities second-guessing whether they were safe.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: GPonline, 19 August 2024