NHS staff have reported a shocking rise in racist abuse over the last year and a half with health workers called “monkeys” and patients refusing treatment from non-white staff.

Staff said they are sometimes forced to “accept” racist remarks as “something they have to put up with,” a poll from Society of Radiographers (SoR) members revealed.

Stand Up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu told the Morning Star: “As NHS workers themselves have identified, this increase has coincided with a wider rise in racism across society, fuelled by the toxic and inflammatory rhetoric of Reform UK.

“Racism at the top leads to racism on the ground.

“The Burnham government must show leadership by taking decisive action to tackle racism and address the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to divide communities and fuel inequality.”

Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (Barac) national chairwoman Zita Holbourne said there “must be zero tolerance of racism towards workers in the NHS or any other workplace for that matter.”

“The employers have a duty of care,” Ms Holbourne said. “Racist abuse is harmful to the health of these workers who look after the health of others.

“If people are going to be racist to them, there is a simple solution: do not provide any service or care for them.”

Ms Holbourne demanded the NHS “take prompt and strong actions” and work to prevent racist abuse and “create a safe environment for all their workers.”

She said: “There are laws, policies and procedures that the NHS must adhere to in order to prevent and protect against racism and tackle it when it does occur.

“The NHS was built off the backs of migrant workers and would collapse today without them.

“This is reminiscent of the 1950s and ’60s when Caribbean nurses faced the same types of horrific abuse and discrimination. And 70 years later we should not be facing this and most certainly should not be accepting it.”

NHS England chief of human resources Thomas Simons said racist abuse has “no place in our health service.”

He added that recently implemented national 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 abusive patients.