Nurses and midwives demand anti-racist action from PM

The Federation of Ethnic Minority Organisations Healthcare (FEMHO) published an open letter on Tuesday evening (13 August) to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, and various government departments, calling for reforms to the policing of hate crimes and more support for healthcare workers impacted by racism.

“It is devastating that the tragic crime committed in Southport continues to be associated with ongoing violence against people of colour”

Letter to Sir Keir Starmer

FEMHO, which is made up of dozens of UK-based groups representing minority ethnic healthcare professionals, called for “decisive action” against a “rising tide of racism, anti-Muslim violence and Islamophobia”.

The letter read: “As healthcare professionals, we witness daily the profound physical and psychological damage these violent behaviours cause.

“The trauma experienced by those targeted is not merely a statistic – it is a glaring indictment of our failure to protect our citizens from racially and religiously motivated violence. This must end now.”

The letter was published after a series of riots organised by far-right groups, allegedly with links to the defunct English Defence League (EDL), took place in dozens of UK towns and cities in early-August.

They were sparked by an online misinformation campaign falsely claiming that a suspect in the killing of three children on 29 July in Southport was a Muslim immigrant, leading to mosques and asylum-seeker hotels being targeted by rioters and racist attacks across the UK.

Amid these riots, two Filipino nurses had objects thrown at a taxi they were taking to work.

Some minority ethnic nurses have reportedly become scared to go to their jobs.

Sir Keir, health and social care secretary Wes Streeting and other senior politicians have condemned the riots, with Mr Streeting reiterating that patients who racially abuse staff can be refused treatment.

FEMHO, however, called for firmer action to tackle racism and Islamophobia.

The letter made five key demands:

1. Law reform to improve policing of racism and minority ethnic people;
2. Investment in schemes to promote “dialogue, understanding and unity” between ethnic and religious groups and support for victims of racism and anti-religious violence;
3. Harsher punishments for hate crimes;
4. An “aggressive” awareness campaign about the impact of Islamophobia on victims and the “value of diversity”, as well as debunking ethnic and religious stereotypes;
5. Improved monitoring and reporting of hate crimes.

As well as this, the organisations demanded an “urgent meeting” with Sir Keir to further outline the demands.

FEMHO added: “It is devastating that the tragic crime committed in Southport continues to be associated with ongoing violence against people of colour.

“It is contemptuous of the grief experienced by the families and the Southport communities affected.”

Further, the group criticised media coverage “entertaining debates” about immigration following the race riots, adding: “People of colour should never have to justify their level of integration in order to claim basic protection from criminal acts.”

Ofrah Muflahi

Ofrah Muflahi, founder of FEMHO member group the British Arab Nursing and Midwifery Association (BANMA), said: “It’s one thing after the other, Gaza – which is still happening – and now this, it’s unbearable.”

BANMA members, she said, had asked for support getting to and from work and she noted that staff who wear a hijab were particularly concerned for their safety in public.

Ms Muflahi, who works as a nurse in the West Midlands, added: “I’ve certainly noticed a difference around Islamophobia, which is rearing its head.

“Some of the things which I’ve heard locally… was that patients were starting to behave in a way which wasn’t acceptable in relation to receiving care from people who aren’t White. [The riots] are having this ripple effect.”

She added that her 90-year-old mother, who wears a hijab herself, had refused to attend hospital appointments despite being a dialysis patient for fear of racist violence.

“She’s been in this country since 1963, she’s seen a lot in her life and when she’s fearful for her life, for me, that’s really worrying,” said the BANMA leader.

Ms Muflahi said the response from the country’s leadership so far had been poor: “We need action not words.

“The government must do more; the NHS and social care are built on migration, on people like myself and my mother, and thousands of others who migrated to this country and built its very bedrock.”

Amina, a London midwife and member of letter signatory the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA), said there was a “genuine sense of unease” among many Muslim and minority ethnic nursing staff at the moment.

Many midwives, she told Nursing Times, were worried about going to work and she urged employers to check in with their staff.

“People want to express the concerns about whether it’s safe to travel in, to be able to honestly explore that with their employers. Checking in [with staff] makes a huge difference,” said Amina, who did not want her last name published.

“What’s very important is acknowledging that these riots are based on racism and there is a large Islamophobia element. People allude to it but don’t mention.

“One lady [from my trust] was wearing a theatre cap, and she wondered whether she would be safer wearing that on the way home instead of her hijab.

“The psychological impact on staff, people must understand that this has a longer reach.”

Amina welcomed the response from Mr Streeting clarifying that healthcare staff may refuse treatment to a patient who is racist or Islamophobic to staff, but said further clarity about the processes would be useful.

“A statement is brilliant and gives a certain level of clarity, but being able to know what that means and what it’ll look like and who do I speak to about it is really important,” she said.

Nursing Times contacted the office of the prime minister and the other government departments for comment.