Greater stand needed against racist abuse of healthcare workers

Last November, the Irish Medical Council sent out a press release condemning the “vile attacks and targeting of healthcare workers”.

In the release, the CEO of the Council Dr Maria O’Kane highlighted that the attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine, among other regions, constitute continuing breaches of international law.

Dr O’Kane rightly said these attacks were totally unacceptable and should be widely condemned.

Other Irish healthcare bodies, such as the IHCA and the IMO, have also issued strong statements about this issue. Indeed, a commendable group of healthcare workers established a specific group – Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine – to lobby against the Israeli government’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, including its attacks on healthcare.

But the Medical Council’s press release also drew attention to something that is not so regularly highlighted: The rise in racial abuse of healthcare workers in Ireland.

“It is vitally important that there is a zero-tolerance approach to racial abuse, especially in healthcare settings,” stated Dr O’Kane.

“I strongly encourage employers to ensure that supports are available and promoted for healthcare professionals who are victims of racial abuse and for those from countries engulfed in conflict.”

In August 2025, the HSE, the Irish College of GPs (ICGP) and the INMO sent out press releases on the issue.

According to the ICGP’s statement at the time, one of its GP members had recently reported being racially assaulted to the gardaí.

“We recognise that these recent incidents have engendered a sense of fear within the community, causing individuals, and their families to feel unsafe in their work, and in their community,” the College said.

“As the representative body for general practice in Ireland, the Irish College of GPs unequivocally condemns all incidents of racist assaults and abuse against members of the international community living in Ireland.”

The lead feature in this edition of the Medical Independent examines the significant toll that racist abuse, both verbal and physical, continues to take on healthcare professionals in Ireland.

In a sad reflection of the political climate, one of the two doctors interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears he would be targeted for speaking out.

Before the recent surge in racism, this doctor had considered settling in Ireland. This is no longer the case.

“Me and my fiancée are originally from East Africa and I don’t see us raising small kids here. I don’t want my kids to face racism. Our plan is to move back home,” he said.

The other doctor interviewed, Dr Mustafa Mehmood, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, also had a positive experience of living here when he first arrived in 2014.

“You were respected,” Dr Mehmood said. “Nobody would be hassling you. Now it is not uncommon to be racially abused at work by a patient, or on your way to work or coming back from work.”

The statistics obtained from the HSE by reporter Niamh Cahill show that over 300 incidents of racist abuse of staff were recorded on the National Incident Management System over a three-year period from 2023 to 2025.

Both interviewed doctors said that a national campaign was necessary to address the problem and called on the Government and the HSE to do more. Colleges and doctor representative bodies also have an important role to play.

When contacted by this newspaper, an IHCA spokesperson said there needs to be a zero-tolerance policy towards violence, aggression, or any form of abuse, racial or otherwise, directed at
healthcare workers.

It should be acknowledged that this is not only an Irish issue. The rise of the far-right internationally has seen racist behaviour previously deemed unacceptable become more mainstream in countries around the world, both in healthcare settings and wider society. However, just because the problem extends beyond these shores does not make it inevitable or mean that local action cannot be taken to stem its rise.

I’d like to thank the doctors interviewed for speaking so candidly about their experiences. Hopefully their call for action will be heeded by those with the power to counteract and stamp out this
repugnant behaviour.