Three people were targeted in racially motivated hate crimes in Derry's Waterside on Sunday night, police have said. The incidents are under investigation.

Pauline Shepherd, representing the Independent Health and Care Providers (IHCP), condemned the attacks. She said the organisation utterly condemns the appalling attacks and that thoughts are with everyone targeted and their families. She wished those injured a full recovery. No one should face violence or intimidation because of their skin colour or where they come from, she said.

Shepherd said it is deeply distressing that care workers were among those attacked. International colleagues support people in care homes and in their own homes across Northern Ireland. They are neighbours and members of the community and deserve to feel safe and welcome, she added.

She noted that a recent decision to preserve a five-year settlement route for eligible care workers was welcome recognition of their contribution. However, she stressed that vital health workers must be able to go about their daily activities without facing attack and intimidation. Alongside certainty about their future, workers and their families must be able to go about their daily lives without fear of racist abuse or violence, she said.

Shepherd called on political leaders, employers and communities to stand together against racism and support those affected. She urged anyone with information about these attacks to contact the police.

The incidents come in the same weekend as an assault on a female paramedic at Altnagelvin Hospital. The paramedic suffered injuries to her head, neck, face and hands in an attack at approximately 5.45 pm on Saturday. The PSNI in Derry confirmed that a person was arrested in connection with the assault. They have since been de-arrested and police enquiries are ongoing.