An advice line for nursing staff has reported a shocking surge in complaints about racism at work, as new analysis from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) shows incidents have increased 55% in just three years.
The data, released today by the RCN, shows that the nursing union is now receiving 3 calls a day from ethnic minority nursing staff across the UK seeking advice and support after being racially abused or discriminated against in their own workplace.
The number of calls is projected to well exceed 1,000 in 2025 alone, and follows consistent increases over the last three years, with nearly 700 cases in 2022, nearly 800 cases reported in 2023 and well over 900 in 2024 [NOTE 1]. Overall, this means calls from staff working in the NHS and independent health and social care sectors have increased by 55% in just three years.
The RCN is warning the real figures are likely much higher, with most racial abuse and discrimination going unreported. Often, only the most serious cases get reported to trade unions, with members seeking legal advice or support.
During 2025, ethnic minority nursing staff across the UK reported to the RCN:
- A manager saying, ‘then you shouldn’t have come to the UK’, after an RCN member had made a leave request which had been unfairly denied, with the manager putting undue restrictions on when they could take leave.
- An employer failing to take action after an RCN member had been racially abused consistently by a patient, including referring to the member as a ‘creature’ and mocking their name and accent.
- A member of staff telling an RCN member ‘I want to remind you that you’re not one of us’.
- A patient and their family repeatedly refusing care from an RCN member, saying they didn’t want ‘people like her’ treating their family and calling the member and their colleagues ‘slaves’.
- A member of staff making numerous racist remarks directed at an RCN member and their colleagues, including saying about black people that ‘you can only see their teeth when it is dark’.
The findings follow a further wave of racist disorder and anti-migrant protests this summer, which the RCN warns could have emboldened people to abuse ethnic minority and migrant staff.
As well as calling on employers to prioritise tackling racism and work with trade unions to agree stronger mechanisms to protect staff, the College is warning government and politicians to stop their use of anti-migrant rhetoric, which it says is putting staff at risk.
It follows the RCN signing a joint statement alongside other health trade unions last week on keeping communities safe from racism, demanding that politicians put an end to ‘a sustained campaign of anti-migrant rhetoric’.
Earlier this month, the RCN also publicly condemned the UK Government’s plans to double the period that nursing staff must wait to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain from five years to 10 years, calling it ‘pandering of the worst kind’.
Responding to the latest findings from the RCN’s Advice Line, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“These racist incidents are absolutely disgusting, and it is a mark of shame that they are rising like this across health and care services. Every single ethnic minority nursing professional deserves to go to work without fear of being abused and employers have a legal duty to ensure workplaces are safe. These findings must refocus minds in the fight against racism.
“If health and care employers fail to make their workplaces a safe environment for nursing staff, it is unsurprising that those same staff leave, and their services are less safely staffed. Employers must prioritise tackling racism and work with trade unions to develop stronger mechanisms to protect staff.
“The reality is that our health and social care system only functions because nursing staff of every ethnicity, nationality, and faith make it so. We are urging government and politicians of all parties to recognise their role in tackling racism – and that must include an end to the use of anti-migrant rhetoric, which only risks emboldening racist behaviour.”
Ends
Notes to editors
NOTE 1 - Since 2022, the RCN has recorded the monthly average of ethnic minority nursing staff across the UK reporting incidents of racial abuse or discrimination who work across the NHS, independent health and social care sectors:
|
Year |
Monthly Average |
Variance from previous year |
|
2022 |
58 |
|
|
2023 |
65 |
12% |
|
2024 |
77 |
18% |
|
2025 |
90 |
17% |
NOTE 2 - The RCN has set up an anti-racism subgroup of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The subgroup aims to fulfil the member ask to transform the RCN into an anti-racist organisation.
