Healthcare workers in Grantham raise concerns over increase in racial abuse cases after nurse assaulted in street
Healthcare workers say racial abuse has increased in recent months after an incident in which a nurse was assaulted while walking home from the supermarket with her husband.
Twinkle Sam and her husband were walking home from Asda supermarket in Grantham at about 7.30pm on Saturday (March 1).
They were between Asda, in Union Street, and the A607, in Grantham, when a young woman approached them unprovoked, hurled racial slurs, and then physically attacked them.
Mrs Sam, who works as a nurse, was pushed to the ground and suffered injuries to her elbow, wrist and ankle.
She said the attacker shouted racial abuse, including, “You black b***h, we don’t like you people here in our place,” before they ran off in the direction of Asda.
Mrs Sam, a qualified nurse from India who moved to the UK in 2022 for better job opportunities and works at Grantham Hospital, has since reported the incident to police.
She said she loved Grantham and had had a positive experience in the town until this happened.
“I’m now very anxious,” she said.
“This is the first thing that’s happened. We’ve been living here for three years and really love this place.
“I know the UK is a country that respects nurses, and I have really good experiences with people, patients and my co-workers.”
Lincolnshire Police said it had received a report of the assault at Union Street in Grantham and that investigations into the incident were ongoing.
Concerns have been raised by friends of Mrs Sam and members of Grantham’s Indian community, with calls for greater awareness and action against racially motivated attacks.
NHS nurse Tina Shine and continuing health assessor Sijo Mangalasseril said there had been an increase in incidents in recent times, several involving highly qualified NHS professionals and key workers.
“This assault has raised significant concerns within the Grantham community, particularly among minority residents, highlighting the potential for such incidents to instill fear and erode feelings of safety,” said Sijo.
“Many distressing incidents have been reported recently in Grantham,” said Tina.
“Many of them are unaware of what to do. Many of them are in mental trauma.
“All are highly qualified NHS professionals and key workers, recruited by the NHS directly.”
They say some key workers are looking to leave Grantham and move elsewhere.
Tina is in the process of organising a campaign to raise awareness of hate crimes in Grantham.
Abin Scaria, who runs a care business in Nottingham, says he was subjected to two incidents of hate crime in March last year. During the second incident, he was accompanied by his young daughter, and he reported the attack to police.
However, the suspect was released on bail, and the case was later dismissed due to a mismatch in descriptions.
Further investigations found there was not enough evidence for police to charge anyone.
Mr Scaria said he stopped walking his daughter to school following this because he did not want her to be subjected to similar experiences.
“She asked me what’s happening, why is that man angry with you? What could I tell her?” said Abin.
“The man came to us a second time, so I thought it’s a risk for me, it’s a risk for my daughter—he has seen my daughter…”
Mr Scaria’s wife is a specialist nurse in the community.
He added: “We are immigrants, but we are living here, same as anyone in this country. We are paying tax, we are serving our communities. I don’t think we deserve this.”
He noted he had also heard of other members of the Indian community being subjected to similar incidents.
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “Lincolnshire Police take all reports of racially motivated crime extremely seriously.
“Racism will not be tolerated in our county and has no place in our communities.
“Our goal is to make Lincolnshire the safest place to live, work and visit, and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim of such a crime to reach out to us and report it.”
A spokesperson for ULHT said: “We recognise the benefits our community receives from high quality patient care by diverse staff and do not tolerate racism, hate crime or other forms of unlawful discrimination towards people working in our hospitals.
“We have policies and procedures in place to manage incidents towards our staff and provide ongoing wellbeing support to anyone affected.
“The trust has a robust inclusion strategy embedded in our frameworks and values.
“We work closely with all our staff networks, including the Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage (REACH) network, to support colleagues that have experienced racial discrimination, understand the challenges that healthcare workers with protected characteristics may face, and commit to promoting inclusive services, processes and practices.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident involving Mrs Sam should call Lincolnshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 141 of March 2.
