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.”

It was a night when fervour and hope ran into yet more Arsenal anxiety. This was supposed to be straightforward, wasn’t it? Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on 22 April. They sacked their manager, Scott Parker, shortly afterwards and came here under the caretaker, Michael Jackson. They had avoided defeat only three times in their previous ten league matches, drawing all three.

It was not straightforward. Arsenal laboured under the spectre of the mother and father of all calamities. It nagged away during a traumatic second-half. Everybody knew that with the margins so tight it might take only one flash from Burnley; a bolt from the sky blue. If Arsenal do stagger over the line and win their first title since 2004, they will have done it in nerve-shredding fashion.

The line remains in sight. It will be over if Manchester City fail to win at Bournemouth on Tuesday night. If City do get the points, then it will go to the final Sunday when Arsenal visit Crystal Palace, seeking to preserve a two-point advantage over City, who host Aston Villa.

Arsenal relied on the two pillars of their challenge to see off Burnley. A set-piece goal, Kai Havertz heading home from a Bukayo Saka corner towards the end of the first-half, and the latest demonstration of their defensive excellence. It was their 19th clean sheet of the league season. They are nearly there.

Arteta had demanded passion and energy on what was arguably the biggest occasion in the Emirates Stadium’s 20-year history. He always does this but he really demanded it here, calling upon the Arsenal fans to turn out in their thousands beforehand to welcome the team bus. They got the memo.

The streets in front of the ground were jammed, red flares adding to the visuals. When the pre-match pyrotechnics stretched up towards the sky, the scene was set.

Arteta put the throttle down with his selection – Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze in central midfield in front of Declan Rice. Havertz was preferred to Viktor Gyökeres in the No 9 role. And it was over to the XI in red, their task to find a way through Burnley’s two banks of four.

The nervous tension crackled. When Burnley took their time over dead-balls in the early running, the home crowd howled. There was the usual reception for Kyle Walker, the Burnley captain, formerly of Tottenham. Leandro Trossard was unhappy with a Zian Flemming tackle on Eze and he shoved the Burnley striker. For Arsenal, it was all about managing the hammering of their he arts.

What Arsenal would have given for an early goal but it did not come. There was the moment in the 15th minute when Trossard took a pass from Eze, jinked inside and watched the Burnley defenders back off. He unloaded from just outside the area and watched the shot thump against the post.

Arteta asked Riccardo Calafiori to step up and inside from left-back. Which he did. And then some. He popped up on the right wing at one point in the first half. The manager wanted to isolate Bukayo Saka against the Burnley left-back, Lucas Pires. Saka represented possibility, as usual.

Burnley flickered, which was not supposed to happen. When Flemming sparked a break on 27 minutes, Loum Tchaouna crossed for Hannibal Meibri at the far post. The finished was sliced wide.

Arsenal probed, looking to punch passes up the channels. There was uproar when Havertz got in on the left and crossed low for Saka, who had got in front of Pires. The challenge was messy and down Saka went. There was contact but was it enough? After a video assistant referee review, it was decided there was not.

Arsenal had the momentum. The crowd felt it and they stayed with their team. They needed the reward of a goal, the soothing tonic of one and it came from a familiar source. Just when it was needed. Ødegaard had a clear shooting opportunity only for the ball to deflect off Lesley Ugochukwu for a corner. When Saka curled it over and Havertz rose imperiously, nobody close enough to him, it was the prompt for a wild release.

There had been so many reasons to presume that Burnley would be easy meat. The majority of them were supplied by their numbers over the course of a frustrating season. But their performance was good. They moved the ball with slickness at times. Tchaouna and Jaidon Anthony tried to make it happen on the wings. Flemming was a presence.

Eze came to the fore at the start of the second-half as Arsenal craved the comfort of a second goal. When he banged a volley from Cristhian Mosquera’s cross down into the ground and back up, he watched the ball skim the top of the crossbar. Moments later, Eze was well placed to meet a Havertz cross only to head into Maxime Estève, a decent chance wasted.

It remained uncomfortable. The Arsenal crowd tried to lift their players, with Burnley coming to fancy their chances of landing the sling-shot. “Stand up for the Ar-se-nal,” they demanded. They stood. Matters threatened to become even edgier when Havertz stretched into a challenge on Ugochukwu in the 67th minute and caught him with his studs. There was a review for a possible red card. The decision was to stick with the yellow.

For the home crowd, the closing stages were harrowing. Burnley, though, did not create the big chance. Not for the first time, Arsenal refused to yield.