A nurse practitioner working in Northern Ireland says the healthcare system would simply collapse without workers from abroad.

It comes after two nights of unrest this week across Belfast and other parts of the country, following a stabbing attack allegedly committed by a Sudanese man in the north of the city on June 8.

Rioters have burned houses, smashed windows, hurled bricks at police, and marched through the streets, saying they were there to get "foreigners out".

Bisi Jose, a nurse practitioner working at a GP practice in Belfast, said the recent unrest had caused significant anxiety among international and ethnic minority healthcare workers.

"We can see they all are frightened to go back home and they were really frightened to go out," Jose explained.

"They are worried about their family, they are worried about their children, and they're all worried about their future and what is going to happen if it continues to be unsafe here.

"It is hugely affecting us both physically and psychologically and it is affecting [how we can carry out our duties to the patients as well]."

She said her colleagues believed that one person's actions should not affect an entire community and that people should not be singled out because of their skin colour, religion, or nationality.

"We are one,” she said. “We are working together for the welfare of Northern Ireland."

Despite making up less than four percent of Northern Ireland's population, Jose is convinced that workers from ethnic minority backgrounds make a significant contribution to the healthcare system.

"I am from India, and many people are coming from Africa, Philippines, Sudan, Indonesia and different parts of the world, and they all came here legally, and they all are holding either visa or British passport.

"They are [making] a huge contribution to our healthcare system - if they were unable to work properly here, the system would collapse.

"So we have to think very, very carefully at the moment about what the people are doing outside.

"They have to stop targeting international care workers."