Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists President Dr Ranee Thakar said:
“Like many we have been deeply saddened to see the riots across the country in the last few days. As a global College, we condemn the racial attacks and racist rhetoric which has accompanied them.
“NHS England Chief Exec Amanda Pritchard has today made the point that with 200 nationalities represented across our health service, migration is a key factor which has sustained and diversified the NHS – and those who have come from afar to provide their expertise in care should be welcomed, valued and above all, looked after.
“We support this sentiment whole heartedly. We know that racism and discrimination is found throughout medicine, including across the professional life cycle of obstetricians and gynaecologists in the UK. Confronting this is imperative for achieving equitable and high-quality health care outcomes for women, and we deplore that any of our hard working members may be feeling scared or unwelcome at work following these recent events.
“We urge all healthcare workers to report any incidents of racism, abuse or violence to the appropriate authorities immediately.”
For more on the College’s work on race equality see here: The College’s ambition for race equality | RCOG