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NHS radiographers report rise in overt racist abuse by patients

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 583 words · By Tobi Thomas
Healthcare Worker Welfare Systemic Racism in the UK NHS Policy and Governance
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NHS radiographers are experiencing racist abuse by patients, who have called them “monkeys” and refused to be seen by black and Asian staff, according to a report.

Claims checked 5
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left14%
Center72%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

NHS radiographers are experiencing racist abuse by patients, who have called them “monkeys” and refused to be seen by black and Asian staff, according to a report.

Why it matters

A survey of 381 members of the Society of Radiographers revealed a “noticeable” rise in instances of overt racism experienced and witnessed by radiographers across the health service over the past 18 months.

Common ground

Examples included staff being called “dirty foreigners”, patients complaining about the skin colour of those attending to them, and patients making comments in front of staff about “people coming over here and taking our jobs”.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/04/noticeable-rise-racist-abuse-nhs…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 2
info Single Source 2
check_circle Corroborated 1
verified
Claim 1: “The Royal College of Nursing revealed in October that the number of racist incidents experienced by its members had risen 55% over a three-year period”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia confirms the existence of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), none of the provided evidence mentions a report from October regarding a 55% increase in racist incidents.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care is an academic faculty within King's College London. The faculty is the world's first nursing school to be continuously connect…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale_Faculty_o…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as the QAs) was the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. In November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army Medic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Alexandra's_Royal_Army_N…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, rec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_College_of_Nursing
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “A survey of 381 members of the Society of Radiographers revealed a “noticeable” rise in instances of overt racism experienced and witnessed by radiographers across the health service over the past 18 months.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of generic advertisements and descriptions for survey platforms (SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms, Survey Junkie) and contains no information regarding a survey of 381 members of the Society of Radiographers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SurveyMonkey is the world’s most popular survey software, built for business and loved by users. Easily create surveys and forms with AI and templates for employee and customer feedback, market resear…
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Use Microsoft Forms to easily create online surveys, forms, quizzes and questionnaires. AI powered, free survey tool from Microsoft.
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Millions of people trust Survey Junkie and share their opinions and behaviors in exchange for rewards and gift cards. Take surveys and make money online.
https://www.surveyjunkie.com/
check_circle
Claim 3: “NHS radiographers are experiencing racist abuse by patients, who have called them “monkeys” and refused to be seen by black and Asian staff, according to a report.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources (NHS, SoR, and LBC) explicitly confirm that NHS radiographers have faced racist abuse, including being called 'monkeys' and patients refusing care from Black and Asian staff.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust which provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Country_Healthcare_NHS_F…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_ethnicity_in…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Felicia Margaret Kwaku OBE FRCN is a nurse and executive hospital administrator in NHS England. In 2020, she was awarded the OBE for services to nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kwaku serves as t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Kwaku
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 4: “the latest NHS staff survey found that one in five black and minority-ethnic staff had reported abuse, bullying or harassment from patients or the public, compared with just one in 20 white staff.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence consists of generic news homepages (Fox, ABC, NBC) and Wikipedia entries for NHS trusts, but none of the sources provide the specific statistics regarding the NHS staff survey mentioned in the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides a wide range of community health services across Birmingham and the West Midlands, England. It became an NHS Foundation Trust in March 201…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Community_Healthcar…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust which provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Country_Healthcare_NHS_F…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United Kingdom, Black Wednesday is the first Wednesday of August when newly qualified doctors enter their first postgraduate positions in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. It is also the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday_(NHS)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “Paul Awah, 39, a radiographer based in Bedfordshire who moved to the UK from Nigeria five years ago”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence consists of irrelevant search results regarding Paul the Apostle and a 2011 film titled 'Paul'. There is no evidence provided regarding a radiographer named Paul Awah.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Paul was apparently Paul's own preference, since he always refers to himself as Paul in his letters (18 times in the letters generally regarded as written by Paul himself, and 10 more times in the oth…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Just as she is about to kill them, she is crushed by the landing transport ship. Paul says goodbye to his friends and offers Tara a chance to go with him, promising to give her a new life after ruinin…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_(2011_film)
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 29, 2026 · Paul was also a prolific writer, authoring thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. His epistles addressed doctrinal issues, provided guidance, and offered encouragement…
https://biblestudytoolbox.com/bible-studies/bible-characters…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.