2284 NHS staff experiences of racism from patients and carers: survey from a London older persons service

Abstract Introduction There is growing awareness of the harms caused by racial abuse and discrimination from patients towards healthcare professionals, including anecdotal reports of patients ‘requesting a white doctor’ (Kline, BMJ Opinion, 2020); yet there is limited understanding of the impact in Geriatric settings. We conducted a survey in an inpatient Older Persons Service (OPS) on the prevalence, impact and actions taken in response to patient racism towards staff. Methods A cross-sectional survey (Total N = 47; Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff: N = 32; White staff: N = 15) of staff experiences of racist behaviour from patients and carers (July 2021) in a tertiary level inpatient OPS in an ethnically diverse London borough, both in terms of patients and staff, in the United Kingdom. The survey was developed in collaboration with OPS staff and the BME network. The anonymous survey was offered to all nurses, doctors, allied healthcare professionals and non-clinical staff on two 26-bed wards. Results Sixty-nine percent (22/32) of BME staff had personally experienced racist behaviour from older patients, while witnessing racism towards colleagues was reported by 62% (18/29) of BME staff and 80% (12/15) of White Staff. Sixty-seven percent (30/45) of respondents had witnessed a patient request a different ethnicity of healthcare professional. The majority of racist incidents went unchallenged and unreported with only 39.1% challenging the patient or carer, 21.7% reporting to a senior and 8.7% reporting via the electronic incident reporting system. The impact of such incidents on staff well-being included self-reported depression (56%, n = 11/21), anxiety about work (28%, n = 6/21) and insomnia (14%, n = 3/21). Conclusion With an ageing population, staff recruitment and retention in Geriatrics is critical. Comprehensive policies that have a zero-tolerance approach to racism, support staff and encourage reporting are crucial. Future research that considers the impact of mental capacity and cognitive impairment would be beneficial.