Medics working in Northern Ireland have revealed an appalling culture of racism, with patients demanding to be seen by a white doctor and vile racist slurs used by NHS staff.
n one particularly alarming example of the racism being endured by doctors here, one medic overheard two doctors refer to an Asian colleague as a “monkey” and laughing.
In another separate incident, a patient asked an Asian British medical student working in Northern Ireland: “So, which s***hole do you come from?”.
The student said: “I was stunned. I said Northern Ireland.
“He laughed harshly and replied, ‘Yeah right, you’re from Northern Ireland? What a joke.”
Another doctor has said the problem became so significant they were prescribed with medication to treat depression.
Experiences of doctors in Northern Ireland have come to light as a result of a survey carried out by the British Medical Association (BMA), which garnered more than 2,000 responses from doctors and medical students across the UK.
The BMA’s Anti-Racism in Medicine report has revealed that 85% of respondents from Northern Ireland had experienced racism within the last two years — higher than the other UK nations.
More than a quarter of respondents had considered leaving their job because of racism in the workplace.
Dr Maysah Salman, deputy chair of the BMA junior doctors’ committee in Northern Ireland, said: “The comments made by our colleagues in this research make for shocking reading.
“We must all do better as individuals and as employers.
"We need to recognise and acknowledge that there is a problem with racism and racist behaviour right across our health system, and that our colleagues are being harmed.”
The report has highlighted the racist attitude of patients towards doctors who are from ethnic minorities working in the health service in Northern Ireland.
One doctor reported “patients wanting a white doctor or asking the opinion of a more junior doctor, due to the consultant not being white”, while another said when they took a history from a patient, the patient looked at and answered their Northern Irish colleague.
However, incidents of racism were not restricted solely to patients, with doctors reporting to the BMA that colleagues treat them differently due to their ethnicity.
One student doctor said some trainers “give more attention and opportunities with patients to students who are from Northern Ireland” and that they engage more with trainees who are local.
A different doctor described a “racist team lead supported by management”, and a further respondent from Northern Ireland said: “I heard a consultant and a registrar calling an Asian colleague a monkey behind her back and laughing about it.”
In another response to the survey by a doctor working in Northern Ireland, they said there was “no attempt made to pronounce or learn a name because it’s foreign”.
In further evidence of the startling attitude of some NHS staff, another respondent said: “I often get mixed up with other black colleagues — three individuals who do not share heritage, body shape or accents — on multiple occasions by a wide array of staff, including consultants, senior nurses and bed managers.”
Meanwhile, the British Asian medical student who was the victim of racist abuse by a patient said: “Although it is irrational, racism makes you doubt yourself and question your own place in the country.
“I found it distressing when my portfolio tutor saw my portfolio entry about it and decided to challenge me about whether this incident was racism or not.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to do that to the person who has had the experience… being dismissed in this way can be worse than the incident itself sometimes, because it tells you that the person you’re speaking to doesn’t care about your wellbeing in the slightest.”
Another respondent described their “line manager bullying and using derogatory language” and that they treated “white doctors much more favourably than the black and Asian doctors”.
In fact, one in seven respondents who had experienced racism said they had chosen not to report it as they did not believe it would be addressed or that they would be labelled as a troublemaker.
One doctor said: “It has opened my eyes to the way people think and try to articulate their racist thoughts in order not to have it used against them, it’s a closed community here and rising concerns will get you unwanted attention.”
A locum junior doctor said: “I suppose as a person who grew up in England, I can easily discern condescending inflections and patronising behaviour.
“Despite this, constantly justifying your presence — your right to belong — as a professional is mentally taxing and to an extent tiring to the point where over time, I have begun to let things pass as highlighting this will label me as a difficult black man.
“There are a number of colleagues that struggle more than me, but the experience is deterring me from pursuing a long-term career in the UK.
“Writing this is triggering and 300 words cannot sum up 1% of the experience and difficulties,” they added.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said a number of initiatives are in place to ensure the health service is free from racism, including an equality, diversity and inclusion policy, and a close working relationship with the likes of Community Relations Council.
She added: “The Department is clear that racism is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
