Most who experience abuse from colleagues or patients do not report it because they believe no action will be taken. Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA
Britain’s health system loses foreign staff as racism intensifies
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- A record number of foreign doctors and nurses resigned from the NHS last year.
- Rising racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric are driving staff departures and deterring new recruits.
The head of the UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges warned that record numbers of foreign doctors and nurses have resigned from the National Health Service, citing growing racism and hostile political and media rhetoric toward migrants.
Janet Dixon, president of the academy, told The Guardian in comments published Saturday that last year marked the highest rate of resignations by foreign doctors in the history of the United Kingdom.
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Recruitment stalls after Brexit
Dixon said the inflow of new foreign healthcare workers has stagnated since Britain’s exit from the European Union. She added that the number of newly recruited nurses and midwives has dropped sharply, compounding staffing pressures across the health system.
She warned that the NHS would face collapse without foreign workers, who make up a significant share of its workforce.
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Hostile climate drives resignations
Dixon said hostile language used by some politicians, anti-immigrant narratives in the media, and verbal and racist abuse by some patients were key factors behind the departures and declining arrivals.
“We are developing a culture that portrays foreigners as something bad,” Dixon said. “Even if you have never visited Britain, simply following our media, social platforms, and listening to our politicians is enough to see how hostile it has become.”
Image of an unwelcoming country
She added that potential recruits abroad see reports of attacks on synagogues, anti-Muslim protests, and repeated claims that immigration is the country’s biggest problem.
“Why would people go somewhere they are not welcome?” Dixon asked, saying Britain is increasingly viewed as an unwelcoming and racist country.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges represents 22 medical academies and colleges across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
