Thousands of doctors and nurses from abroad are risking their lives in the UK tackling coronavirus and have also had to put up with racism and an uncertain future. There is a growing call for their efforts to be recognised.

Despite making up around 14 percent of the population, almost half of all medical staff in the UK are from black or minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME) and, so far, most of the medics in the National Health Service and carers who have died from the coronavirus were BAME.

Lucy Sang is a student nurse from China who has been called in to assist in the fight against COVID-19. She claims she endured racism working in a London hospital.

"I felt very devalued firstly and, frustrated, I just wanted to leave really but, I never give up my job because I love my job," she said. "I just thought 'I have to leave that hospital' and finally I did and found another hospital."

She now works outside London and says things are better there but that she still worries about the issue. She didn't want either facility to be named but said there were advantages to working abroad.

"Working in a hospital in the UK has been such a good experience for me to grow as a nurse," Lucy continued. "Now I understand people and patients better with different cultures, different races, different religions.”

The chair of the British Medical Association (BMA), Chaand Nagpaul, has written to the government calling for international doctors fighting COVID-19 to be given settled visa status, known as 'indefinite leave to remain.' 

"It is important that medical professionals who wish to assist in the current crisis are supported in doing so," Nagpaul's letter stated.

The underlying premise is that because medics are risking their lives during this national crisis, they ought to get some special treatment.

The UK's Home Office - which oversees citizenship - told CGTN it's already offered a free one-year extension to doctors, nurses and paramedics with visas set to expire before 1 October 2020, and added it would "continue to work to see if we can assist other frontline workers during this crisis."

There could also be some public support for the plans. An online petition to grant British citizenship to foreign medics fighting COVID-19 has received almost 50,000 signatures online.

As the UK continues its battle against COVID-19, foreign workers are set to keep on playing a crucial role in the fight. The hope for those like Lucy Sang is that on the other side of the crisis, attitudes may change.

The BMA did not respond to our request for comment.