AIBU to think refusing treatment from non-white medical professionals should have consequences?

[MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack]

There has apparently been a significant rise in racism towards NHS staff, with a growing number of people refusing to allow non-white NHS staff to treat them. This is sad but not surprising given the shift in society as a whole towards people expressing their racism much more openly.

https://news.sky.com/story/nhs-staff-experiencing-unconscionable-levels-of-racist-abuse-survey-finds-13569575

I have always admired the commitment of NHS staff who treat all patients with care and compassion, even when those patients are rude and abusive. But if people are actually refusing to let certain staff provide treatment, surely there should be consequences for this?

AIBU to think that everyone has the right to refuse treatment if they so wish, but if a patient refuses treatment from a medical professional simply because they don't like the colour of that medical practitioner's skin, then they should then forfeit the right to receive that treatment on the NHS. So they can either go without or find the money to be treated privately by a medical professional of their choice?

There would need to be signs warning people of the consequences of their choices, of course, but if someone doesn't want a Black or Asian radiographer carry out their x-ray, then fine... they just don't get an x-ray.

There is so many legal things wrong with thia idea i cant beleive it is not blatantly obvious with anyone who has had any schooling at all

The logical consequence of this is that people would die in agony because they are racist.

Do elaborate.

Do you think that people should not be allowed to refuse treatment?

Or do you think they should be allowed to discriminate against NHS staff on the basis of their skin colour?

Not because they were racist but because they had chosen to decline treatment.

I am not suggesting that the NHS should refuse to treat people simply because they are racist.

I am suggesting that the NHS should not offer people a choice of medical professional based on skin colour.

People can either accept the treatment that is on offer or not, as they wish.

It's disgusting..if all on white NHS staff disappeared the NHS wouldn't exist

Around my way, you wouldn't be able to suggest this because you'd get no doctor or nurse but hopefully people don't do it where I live sounds like something from the 70s

While I don't think it's right, perhaps trained British medical staff will get a chance at getting a job. Meanwhile Africa will retain their trained staff. Because things will be rethought out.

How so?

And what about trained British medical staff like my dd, who happens to be mixed race?

What? You don't think that Black or Asian people can be British? You sound as racist as the people complaining.

Are you claiming that all British people are white?

I can see a situation where a non white doctor does something patient unhappy with unrelated to their skin colour and white patient too scared to say something in case accused of racism, with your idea.

Very easy for the medical professional to then think they are untouchable.

I think it's called the 'woke cloak'

I take it you meant non white staff? That's because there's active recruitment, while rejecting British staff. We now know this, it featured in the junior doctors strike. We need to also be investing in research and training.

If you're ill you should accept treatment from anyone who has the skill. Colour should be academic, and to a lesser degree so should sex. If you refuse then you go to the back of the queue. It's really very simple.

It says in the article you linked to that treatment can be refused for this in non-emergency situations, which seems reasonable and proportionate to me.

They certainly shouldn’t be top priority if they behave like that but I suppose the challenge is that racism can sometimes be a symptom of a mental illness such as dementia. I’m sad to hear it’s on the rise though. I’d like to think these things are vanishingly rare but clearly not.

In local trust the majority staff are from overseas. They would likely never receive any help.

IMO, racist behaviour should be met with zero tolerance, and they shouldn’t be treated at all.

I personally think people should be treated by the available qualified clinician, but there are people who think they can choose the sex and/or gender of whoever is treating them, surely that’s discrimination too? I don’t think people should have any choice myself, my gp is Asian, couldn’t care less as long as he is good at his job, but should we refuse care? Not sure

Have you asked yourself why these ‘Trained British medical staff’ aren’t getting the jobs? (Although doubt there are thousands of such people ready to fill the places).

Sex not so much. I’d have gone ahead with my mammogram if I’d had a male practitioner doing it but I’d have been very tense and unhappy.

Where did I mention skin colour? The article doesn't give examples of people objecting because of colour, but nationality. There's higher barring from practicing because of sexual misconduct amongst some backgrounds. There are issues with poaching staff. However it's that bad that some of the Nigerian women I know have returned home to give birth. I'm not from UK background, I'm also mixed heritage. A country has to prioritise its citizens or it stops working.

Have YOU had any schooling? It's kind of hard to tell from your post.

Ok, so a longer response as to why this is both unworkable and not sensible:

firstly many people are admitted to hospital unconscious or in a severe state where they are not cognitively capable of giving consent. The law as it stands permits medical staff to resuscitate, operate and treat a person who is medically incapacitated.

now lets imagine you are being resuscitated and you open your eyes, see a doctor who is not white and scream “not him”.

have you refused medical treatment? Have you been racist? Or are you “just” not with it and think you are forty years in the past and he is your dad shouting at you?

secondly you are entitled to refuse consent for any treatment for any reason or no reason and as you have bodily autonomy this is considered a basic of the law. Only in very very few cases will this be over-ridden and it usually has to go to court first so we’re talking days or weeks here. (Eg Jehovah’s witnesses refusing blood transfusions for children and even then it’s only over-ruled in cases where the child will clearly die without one).

it is generally considered not ok to withdraw treatment in these cases. For example many people when diagnosed with cancer either immediately or after some courses reach a point where they don’t want chemo (any more). It would be incredibly cruel to refuse palliative care if they’d refused chemo.
i have seen people die in pain. It is never a good thing.

thirdly of course people don’t say it’s because the doctor is not white. They say “could I see another doctor please” or “could I get a second opinion”

Why is the assumption that it's white people refusing treatment from non white people? I'm an immigrant to the UK, and in my experience white British people are the least racist demographic in this country.