A reported rise in racist abuse against healthcare workers in the United Kingdom has raised fresh concerns about the experiences of Nigerian and other African medical professionals who migrated to Europe in search of better career opportunities.
A survey by the Society of Radiographers (SoR) in the UK found that some NHS workers have been called “dirty foreigners” and “monkeys” by patients, while others have reportedly faced rejection because of their skin colour or ethnic background.
The findings have put a spotlight on Nigerian and other African health professionals who have left their home countries in recent years under the migration trend popularly known as “Japa”.
Paul Awah, a diagnostic radiographer based in Bedfordshire who is originally from Nigeria, said racist attitudes have become more openly expressed.
“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 said he had experienced patients telling him they could not understand him, despite English being the only language he speaks.
Other healthcare workers surveyed by the SoR described similarly troubling encounters.
One worker said: “Some patients always complain about the colour of skin of people attending them.”
Another radiographer reported that patients had described healthcare workers as “dirty foreigners”, while another respondent said: “I have witnessed a colleague being called a monkey by a patient.”
In another reported incident, a white man allegedly refused to allow a sonographer to scan his pregnant wife, telling the healthcare worker: “I don’t want anyone from any ethnic background touching my woman.”
Another patient reportedly refused to allow a Black radiographer to carry out a chest X-ray, saying: “Black people frighten me.”
A sonographer in the Midlands who is of Asian descent also reported patients making hostile remarks about immigrants.
“This country isn’t the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs,” she recalled one patient saying.
She said such incidents had become “more prevalent”, linking the change partly to rhetoric in the media and from certain political parties.
For Nigerian and other African healthcare workers who relocated to Britain and elsewhere in Europe, the reports highlight a less-discussed side of the Japa experience.
Many Nigerian doctors, nurses, radiographers and other medical professionals have moved abroad seeking better pay, improved working conditions, professional development and economic stability.
The latest NHS Staff Survey cited in the report found that 9.26 per cent of workers said they had personally experienced discrimination during 2025, the highest level recorded in five years.
NHS England condemned racist abuse against healthcare professionals.
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 meaningful action to prevent and respond to racism, support affected employees and ensure there are consequences for patients who racially abuse or discriminate against healthcare workers.
According to NHS England, such consequences can include refusing care to abusive patients in non-emergency situations.
The development has brought renewed attention to the experiences of Nigerian and African professionals who have joined European healthcare systems through the continuing Japa wave.
UK survey reveals growing racist abuse against African, Nigerian healthcare workers