Some nurses are 'terrified' after Belfast violence

Nurse Beverly Simpson says she was "alarmed, dismayed, terrified and shocked" by the violent scenes in Belfast

A nurse, who is originally from Guyana and now lives in Northern Ireland, has said some colleagues are terrified by scenes of racist violence in Belfast.

Beverly Simpson has said some nurses from ethnic minority backgrounds have told her that they would leave Northern Ireland if the disorder continues.

Her comments come as NI's most senior health leaders condemned the trouble.

Fifteen professional health bodies representing thousands of doctors, nurses and midwives and allied health professionals, said they were “appalled by the scenes of rioting in Belfast this week".

Health unions have condemned the recent rioting in Belfast that followed anti-migration protests

Ms Simpson, who has lived and worked in Londonderry for more than 25 years, said was shocked by the scenes in Belfast.

There has been no such violent scenes in Derry, but Ms Simpson said many of her colleagues have been left "absolutely terrified".

Speaking to North West Today he said many of her overseas colleagues helped make the health service in NI what it is today, and questioned how hospitals and GPs could survive without them.

"If we all ‘go back’, who is going to run the healthcare system?" she said.

"The majority of the doctors and nurses I have worked with are all foreign, either in the private sector or the NHS."

'I fear for my son in Belfast'

Ms Simpson has a son in Belfast with a young family and said she cannot sleep fearing something may happen to him.

“I am alarmed – I don’t sleep as a mother - I live in fear,” she said.

“I have been speaking to my son and I did say to him to come up to Derry, but he has a partner and he has a child in Belfast – Belfast is home, he is a citizen.”

Christine Campbell said her cancer teams from overseas are "amazing"

A woman who is terminally ill with cancer has praised the work of healthcare staff from oversees who provide her care.

Christine Campbell was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in April 2021.

Earlier this year she was told her cancer was terminal and is undergoing chemotherapy which is extending her life

She said her nurses are from around the world.

"They are from India, Spain, Egypt, France and they are amazing in what they do.

"Cancer has no borders and many of these professionals have left families behind to work in our health service," she said.

"If they leave - our system would be on its knees."

Prof Mark Taylor said ethnic minority staff are "part of the very fabric of our health and care system"

Meanwhile, members of the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health, and Social Care (NICON) has also said it will "redouble its efforts" to ensure staff from ethnic minorities feel safe to stay where they live and work.

It added that the local health and social care system was "completely dependent on its ethnic minority staff".

NICON is the voice of the organisations working across Northern Ireland’s integrated Health and Social Care system (HSC).

Its spokesperson Prof Mark Taylor, said NICON highly valued "ethnic minority communities who contribute much to our society, and more specifically we highly value our ethnic minority HSC staff".

"They are part of the very fabric of our health and care system," he said.

“We spend a lot of time and money attracting skilled and compassionate staff from other parts of the world.

"Our members have been doing everything we can to support and care for colleagues.

"To the ringleaders of this violence, we want to highlight that any continuation of the attacks or intimidation will hurt the whole of our society."

The professional health bodies' statement which includes representatives of surgeons, nurses, GPs, pathologists, anaesthetists and the Allied Health Professionals Federation, also said its "unacceptable that local businesses have been attacked and that as a consequence, health service staff feel under threat."

"There are also reports of nurses deciding to leave Northern Ireland because they feel so unsafe," the statement said.

"We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the health service who work tirelessly every day to help patients in times of greatest need."

On Wednesday, a health care worker's home in Ballyclare was attacked in what police have described as a racially motivated hate crime.

The front window of a house in Erskine Park was smashed and a brick thrown through the windscreen of a car parked outside.

'Our members are very worried'

According to the Independent Health and Care Providers international nurses’ makeup around 39% of the care home workforce, while international care assistants’ makeup around 35% of the care home workforce.

It said it's unable to recruit the numbers that are required locally it relies on staff from abroad to work in different health care settings.

Chief executive Pauline Shepherd told BBC News NI members were "concerned about how they can safely travel to provide care to their clients".

"Our members are reporting that staff are very worried about their safety," she said.

"Some have reported that staff have been threatened and slogans painted on walls."