A palliative care doctor has called out the racism, abuse, and hate that was unleashed for NHS workers the leave campaign.
The former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, has raised his head from the parapet once again calling out the British Medical Associations warning that a ‘no deal’ Brexit could have catastrophic consequences for both the NHS and its patients.
The BMA warned that we could see fewer doctors and other medical staff, at a time when there are already huge shortages of these roles, due to uncertainty over future immigration status.
Mr. Farage called the warning an ‘extreme form of project fear’ adding ‘these people are an absolute disgrace’.
This is the most extreme form of project fear yet, these people are an absolute disgrace. https://t.co/9J4DJCRQsC
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) August 16, 2018
But a palliative care doctor has called out Mr. Farage and challenged him to a debate of the facts on his LBC show.
Disgraceful is the racism, abuse & hate.
In response to Nigel Farage’ original tweet, Dr Rachel Clarke said; “Disgraceful is an NHS hospice forced to close a *third* of its beds because some its nurses – wonderful, extraordinarily kind individuals – feel so unwelcome now in Britain they have been driven home to Spain, Portugal, Italy etc.
Disgraceful is the racism, abuse & hate unleashed by your foul & toxic referendum campaign – and, in particular, the racism towards EU staff we have witnessed, post referendum, in my own NHS hospital.
Disgraceful is dying patients trapped in their homes, in desperate need of an NHS hospice bed, who I cannot treat – because the beds are closed – because EU nurses have been driven away by post-Brexit hate.
Disgraceful is having to look a World War Two veteran in the eyes, as he weeps and trembles with relief that at last – at last – a hospice bed became available for his dying, desperate wife.
Disgraceful is an NHS *already* short of 40k nurses and 10k doctors, yet haemorrhaging more daily thanks to the hateful impact of Brexit.
Disgraceful is the staggering – and sustained – 96% reduction in applications to the NHS from EU nurses since the referendum.
Disgraceful is people like you whipping up the hate that has caused all this misery – then trolling doctors like me who bear witness to its horrible, inhumane fallout, every day at work.
So, Mr. Farage, next time you talk about disgrace, and seek to denigrate doctors like me, wash your mouth out and wind your neck in.
Because patients are vulnerable – so incredibly vulnerable. And if you really were a man of the people, as opposed to the racist demagogue you are, you would show some goddamn humility about the human cost of what you’ve done.
And incidentally, @Nigel_Farage, if you want to debate the facts pertaining to Brexit and the NHS, please invite me onto your show to do so, rather than making ad hominem attacks on my profession. @LBC”
Dr. Clarke is an NHS Palliative Care doctor, author of the Times best seller ‘Your life in my hands‘, TEDx speaker and prolific NHS activist. You can follow her on Twitter.
We have approached Mr. Farage for comment but are yet to receive a response.
