Racist abuse of NHS nurses has jumped by 86% in the last few years, which their union’s boss has blamed on the normalisation of extreme views in politics and the media.

One nurse was called a monkey by a colleague, a patient threw a hot drink at a nurse and followed up with racial abuse, and in several cases others were called the N-word, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed.

In other examples, a patient’s family told a nurse they did not want black people looking after their daughter, and a fellow NHS worker shouted at a nurse: “We don’t have people of your colour here.”

Nurses across the UK reported 6,812 incidents last year in which they suffered racist abuse, NHS figures show, a big rise on the 3,652 incidents recorded in 2022. However, it is unclear how many were reported to the police or led to any action being taken, such as a perpetrator being told to seek treatment from a different care provider.

The RCN warned that poor recording of such abuse by the health service, and reluctance among many nurses to report it, meant the figures – which it obtained from NHS trusts and health boards under freedom of information (FOI) – were only “the tip of the iceberg”.

“These figures show a catastrophic rise in the racist abuse faced by nursing staff,” said Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN’s general secretary and chief executive.

While racism had always existed, “those who hold these views have become more emboldened in recent times”, she said. “It reflects a further breakdown in societal norms, in part fed by more extreme views being normalised in the mainstream and across media.”

The findings are the latest evidence of what Kate Jarman, the director of corporate affairs at Milton Keynes university hospital trust, last week called “a rising tide of racism” washing over the NHS making it unsafe for some staff.

The former health secretary Wes Streeting warned last November that NHS personnel were bearing the brunt of the return in British society of an “ugly” racism reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s. An NHS trust boss has said some staff working in the community in England fear some areas have become “no-go zones” for them because St George’s flags have been put on display.

The number of nurses from an ethnic minority background calling the RCN’s advice line seeking help after being racially abused or discriminated against rose by 70% during 2022-25, it said.

In other incidents, a nurse observing Ramadan and praying while on shift was subject to Islamophobia, and another was punched in the eye and racially abused by patients.

Ranger said: “[Racism] is a disgrace, and perhaps just as bad is the fact that many NHS trusts and health boards cannot even tell us how many staff have been on the receiving end. It amounts to a policy of ‘don’t know, don’t care’.”

Dozens of NHS organisations did not keep data on racist incidents while others replied to the RCN’s FOI request with “implausibly low figures” or refused to release any figures. Health chiefs were “failing in their duty to keep [staff] safe at work” by not collecting such data, she said.

“It remains an outrage that NHS [staff] should be subjected to violence and abuse because of who they are,” said Dean Royles, the interim chief executive of NHS Employers. NHS care providers were committed to tackling racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, he added.

NHS bosses planned to introduce a national reporting system to monitor the problem, Royles said.

A recent FOI trawl by the BBC uncovered even more reports by staff of racist abuse in England alone than the RCN found. Figures from the 106 trusts showed that the number of incidents reported increased from 7,002 in 2023 to 8,235 in 2024 – a 17% rise in a year.

Duncan Burton, NHS England’s chief nursing officer, said: “Racism against NHS staff is totally unacceptable. All local organisations must take a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, taking action including police involvement and criminal prosecution as appropriate.

“We would encourage any staff that experience or witness racist incidents to report them so that action can be taken. It is essential that all staff feel safe to speak up and confident that action will be taken, and the NHS has set out targeted action required by local organisations including reviewing disciplinary processes and providing protection and comprehensive psychological support for anyone reporting concerns.”