NHS workers have reported a worrying increase in racist abuse from patients, with some healthcare professionals being called "dirty foreigners" and "monkeys", according to a new survey by the Society of Radiographers (SoR). The professional body said it has seen a "noticeable" rise in racist incidents over the past 18 months, describing the trend as both "unacceptable" and a "poor reflection" on society.

The survey, which gathered responses from radiographers and sonographers across the UK, revealed numerous examples of staff being subjected to discriminatory comments and, in some cases, patients refusing treatment from healthcare workers because of their ethnicity or skin colour.

One NHS worker reported: "Some patients always complain about the colour of skin of people attending them."

Another radiographer said they had encountered "patients describing healthcare staff as dirty foreigners", while a separate respondent revealed: "I have witnessed a colleague being called a monkey by a patient."

In one particularly stark example, a white man allegedly refused to allow a sonographer to scan his pregnant wife, telling staff: "I don't want anyone from any ethnic background touching my woman."

Another patient reportedly declined to have a chest X-ray carried out by a Black radiographer, claiming that "black people frighten me".

Healthcare workers who responded to the survey said such incidents are becoming increasingly common.

A sonographer based in the Midlands, who is of Asian heritage, said she had repeatedly heard patients make comments such as: "This country isn't the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs."

She said the remarks had become "more prevalent" in recent years and suggested that public discourse had contributed to people feeling more comfortable expressing such views openly.

Bedfordshire-based diagnostic radiographer Paul Awah, who originally moved to the UK from Nigeria, said he had also noticed a shift in attitudes.

"It's definitely got worse – people are more expressive now," he said.

"What used to be something people wouldn't say – now the rhetoric has changed."

Mr Awah added that some patients have claimed they struggle to understand him despite English being the only language he speaks.

The findings come amid broader concerns about discrimination within the NHS workforce. The latest NHS Staff Survey, published in March, found that 9.26 per cent of NHS employees said they had personally experienced discrimination during the previous 12 months — the highest figure recorded in the past five years.

The Society of Radiographers condemned the behaviour reported by its members, describing racist abuse directed at healthcare professionals as "unconscionable".

Responding to the findings, Thomas Simons, Chief Human Resources and Organisational Development Officer at NHS England, said: "Racist abuse towards NHS staff is completely unacceptable and has no place in our health service."

He added: "Our new national staff standards are clear that NHS organisations must take meaningful action to prevent and respond to racism, support affected staff and ensure there are clear consequences for patients who racially abuse or discriminate against NHS staff - including the option to refuse care in non-emergency situations."