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A reported increase in racist abuse directed at healthcare workers in the United Kingdom has sparked fresh concerns over the treatment of Nigerian and other African medical professionals who relocated to Europe in pursuit of better career prospects.

A survey conducted by the Society of Radiographers (SoR) in the UK revealed that some National Health Service, NHS, employees have been insulted with terms such as “dirty foreigners” and “monkeys” by patients, while others were allegedly rejected because of their skin colour or ethnic origin.

The report has drawn attention to the experiences of Nigerian and other African healthcare professionals who have left their countries in recent years through the migration trend widely referred to as “Japa”.

Paul Awah, a diagnostic radiographer working in Bedfordshire and originally from Nigeria, said discriminatory attitudes have become more visible in recent times.

“It’s definitely got WORSE, people are more expressive now,” Awah said: “What used to be something people wouldn’t say, now the rhetoric has changed.”

Awah also disclosed that some patients claimed they could not understand him, even though English is the only language he speaks.

Other healthcare professionals who participated in the SoR survey recounted similar experiences of racial discrimination.

One respondent said: “Some patients always complain about the colour of skin of people attending them.”

Another radiographer stated that patients had referred to healthcare staff as “dirty foreigners”, while another participant said: “I have witnessed a colleague being called a monkey by a patient.”

In another reported case, a white man allegedly refused to allow a sonographer examine his pregnant wife, telling the healthcare worker: “I don’t want anyone from any ethnic background touching my woman.”

Another patient reportedly declined to let a Black radiographer perform a chest X-ray, saying: “Black people frighten me.”

A sonographer of Asian descent working in the Midlands also recalled hearing anti-immigrant comments from patients.

“This country isn’t the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs,” she recalled one patient saying.

She noted that such incidents have become “more prevalent”, attributing the trend partly to narratives promoted in sections of the media and by certain political parties.

For Nigerian and other African healthcare professionals who relocated to the UK and other parts of Europe, the findings expose a less-publicised aspect of the Japa journey.

Thousands of Nigerian doctors, nurses, radiographers and other healthcare workers have emigrated in search of higher wages, better working conditions, improved career growth and greater economic security.

The latest NHS Staff Survey referenced in the report showed that 9.26 per cent of employees said they personally experienced discrimination in 2025, the highest figure recorded in the past five years.

NHS England has condemned all forms of racist abuse directed at healthcare workers.

Thomas Simons, NHS England’s Chief Human Resources and Organisational Development Officer, said: “Racist abuse towards NHS staff is completely unacceptable and has no place in our health service.”

He added that NHS organisations must take effective steps to prevent and address racism, provide support for affected staff and ensure appropriate sanctions are imposed on patients who engage in racial abuse or discrimination against healthcare professionals.

According to NHS England, such sanctions may include denying treatment to abusive patients in non-emergency circumstances.

The report has once again highlighted the realities faced by many Nigerian and African professionals who have joined healthcare systems across Europe through the continuing Japa migration wave.

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