Amy HolmesMilton Keynes political reporter
Luca Felice/Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Pamela Moyo has followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a nurse
A senior nurse said her experiences of being racially abused at work “doesn’t put me off my dream of being a nurse and doing the best for the patient”.
Pamela Moyo has worked at the Milton Keynes University Hospital for 14 years, where incidents of violence against staff have risen by almost 30% year-on-year.
She told the BBC someone she was treating recently said: “I am not going to listen to a foreigner and you cannot tell me what to do.”
Joe Harrison, the hospital’s chief executive, acknowledged the issue was getting worse, adding: “It is totally unacceptable to have violence or aggression shown to anyone in this hospital and I would urge anybody that sees it to report it.”
Amy Holmes/BBC
Pamela Moyo said she has worked at the hospital for 14 years and racial abuse from patients is still happening
Moyo qualified as a nurse aged 20 and said she always wanted to enter the profession to follow in her mum’s footsteps, as she saw “how happy she was in her job because it was a rewarding one”.
She said, however, that “being of African descent you get picked up on your accent and they [patients] would ask to speak to someone higher than yourself”.
She said that made her feel sad because it felt like “being rejected and you are thinking it is not something I can change as I was born this way”.
Although some incidents occurred when sick patients were confused, Moyo said you had “people who are like that because that is what they are used to in the community”.
Moyo said a few years back a patient threw a table at her, which missed her but shattered a window.
She said: “We were all shook by it because it was the beginning of a night shift.”
She added that “security managed to get there on time” but said “we were all scared because most of us were female and so vulnerable”.
More recently she said her colleague “was punched in the face by a patient as they were giving them dinner”.
Laura Foster/BBC
Joe Harrison said the rise in levels of abuse against staff meant more work for the hospital’s security team which has also seen more investment
In August Milton Keynes hospital teamed up with Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution service to launch Operation Cavell to try to protect staff from violence and abuse.
Every incident of assault or hate crime against staff is now reviewed by senior police officers, and investigators with an understanding of healthcare environments review cases.
Moyo said this initiative “gives me a reassurance that something is being done and that gives me the courage to carry on”.
She added that “whatever they say does not stop me from caring because I got into nursing because it is my passion”.
She said people’s words were “up to them but what I know is I am making a difference in someone’s life and that takes over everything”.
Harrison told the BBC: “I am confident we are taking the problem seriously and are encouraging every member of the team to report any issues.
“We are absolutely clear that we will involve the police in any action should a member of the public be abusive or violent against a member of staff.”
Harrison said the rise in levels of abuse against staff meant the hospital has invested in a security team.
He added: “We are able to prevent members of the public coming to our hospital for planned treatments if they have been banned from our hospital, but as a health service we are always there to provide life-saving treatment without question, and will continue to do so.”
Insp Shay Harper, from Thames Valley Police, said: “Operation Cavell will underscore our commitment to bringing offenders to justice and remind the public of their obligations to our much-valued healthcare workers.”
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