Political badges should be banned from NHS uniforms

Nor me. It's completely inappropriate. Patients dont need to know your political opinions at work, its completely irrelevant

Employers can, of course, have differing workplace policies. I am not breaking any policies, rules or laws. For me a badge opposing war and supporting human rights will never be is evidence of unprofessional conduct. The test is whether someone does their job properly and treats people fairly, not whether they remain silent about injustice.
History is full of people who were told to keep their views to themselves when speaking out against discrimination, apartheid, war, or inequality made others uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean they were wrong to do so.
If your position is that compassion, peace, and concern for civilian suffering should only be expressed in private, then we simply have very different ideas about what public service and humanity look like.

You may not have strong feelings, but plenty of people do.

Why put them through the process of having to ask for someone else? Just wear your poppy on your own time.

Who said they shouldn't have media attention?

That's not the same as wearing a pin at work. When they're working I expect these nurses to be concentrating on their patients, not talking about their case.

The problem is once you start allowing some kinds of pins at work, where do you draw the line? If patients don't want to see these pins, who decides whether their reaction is legitimate or not?

As they aren't relevant to your role, leave them at home. Wear them to your hearts content outside of work.

But they're not currently against the uniform policy of the organisation these people work for so what's the issue? Some companies will also fire you for wearing trainers, it doesn't mean other organisations don't have different uniform policies.

I'm from.northern Ireland too, it doesn't make people a monolith. I lost family in the troubles but I don't have strong feelings to someone wearing a poppy. If I did, I could ask to see someone else. What's the logic for banning it given you haven't explained any actual harm it does? And you also haven't explained how we would apply a ban to poppies and badges that wouldn't somehow extend to cultural items and other types of personal expression. In face where does personal expression end. Can a nurse have blue hair or would you ban it given assumptions about people's social opinions who have blue hair? Where's the line?

Well I'd fire you if you persisted in that approach.

Wear what you want in your own time but when you are in any normal workplace an employer can make reasonable rules about that. TBF 99pc of employees wouldn't even need this pointing out to them in the private sector

In the public sector poor management has led to this being more but wrongly prevalent.

The workplace ( unless you are an MP ) is NOT the place to proclaim your. political views of any persuasion

So what if the Darlington nurses then? Should they not have been given any media attention to their views or been publicised in their uniforms? I'm still not understanding what harm for example a BAME pin can do to someone it's irrelevant to that's so much worse than the benefit it may have to a BAME maternity patient who may feel more confident that the HCP understood that statistically she could face worse outcomes and is probably educated on how to advocate for her better?

Actually I'm from Northern Ireland originally and the poppy is a politically loaded symbol to many nationalists there. You don't know how people will react to what you're wearing, you may not understand the wider context. So what's so hard about not wearing it at work?

I don't think any views should be signalled. Your patients aren't there to hear your views

The only exception would be something directly relevant to the nhs remit, like a pin to promote breast cancer screening or similar.

Irrelevant doesn't mean they should be banned though surely. I don't have any military family so a poppy is irrelevant to me personally, but it's not harmful to me. Is irrelevance harmful to you in some way?

Could you answer the question, do you equally support any support or GC views being shown? I meant the Darlington nurses went very public with their own identities meaning patients who seem them will be explicitly aware of their views - should they have separated their public campaign from their HCP identities and not done photoshoots in their uniforms? The law regarding SSS is equally valid to equality laws for LGBT people, so are both groups making a political statement that should be banned or should both be allowed in a fair workplace ?

But professionalism doesn’t require people to abandon their values. Healthcare professionals wear badges supporting charities, equality, remembrance, organ donation, Pride, and countless other causes. A small badge expressing opposition to war and concern for human rights doesn’t prevent anyone from providing excellent care.
In fact, compassion, dignity, equality, and respect for human life are fundamental values in healthcare. Those values don’t stop when I leave work, and they don’t become inappropriate because they’re visible on a lanyard.
The assumption that caring about human rights somehow makes someone less professional says more about the observer than the badge.

And sometimes they're the opposite. So given they are not relevant to treatment, keep them to outside of work.

I dont think religious symbolism should be overt either, though something like a chain is easily hidden.

I'm just not sure what is so controversial about expressing your political views outside of a work setting

Sometimes they're treating people to whom those views are very relevant though, that's the whole bloody point.

So do it on your own time then.

Your views of the world are it relevant to the people you treat. They just want high quality, professional care from you.

Well crosses, religious bracelets, headscarves, wedding rings, tattoos, piercings can all be argued against by someone and suggested to show an allegiance to something.some might deem a political or social agenda of sorts. With an organisation as diverse as the NHS, what some might consider a political expression will be a culturally significant item to someone else. I don't think they should all be banned because someone may not like one over another. What if someone wants to wear green and purple in allegiance with the Darlington nurses for example? Should they not be allowed to?

Because some issues are bigger than politics and go to the heart of basic human values.
If I’d lived during the suffragette movement, I’d have worn a suffragette badge. If I’d lived during apartheid in South Africa, I’d have worn an anti-apartheid badge. Standing against injustice has never been irrelevant simply because it isn’t directly part of a job description.
A Palestine badge and a white poppy reflect my opposition to war, oppression, and the suffering of civilians. They don’t harm anyone, exclude anyone, or prevent me from doing my job professionally. They simply show where I stand on issues of humanity, equality, and human rights.
History rarely asks why people spoke up against injustice. More often, it asks why so many chose not to. I can do my job, not breaking any uniform rules and will continue to wear them with pride.

White rights and straight rights badges advocate for the rights of whites and straights. But the reason they will be worn in the NHS is to make whites and straights feel comfortable and engaged in a healthcare setting where they have worse health outcomes (well, whites do. I don't have data on straights).

When you were justifying your position you said wearing an England flag was in no way comparable to other badges because BAME people have worse health outcomes, and that failing to recognise that was "obtuse and stupid". Then we looked at the data and suddenly the goalposts moved.

This emotional labour is exhausting. Still, such is the life of a social justice activist. But today I have work to do so will have to bid you good day.

You have extrapolated an awful lot of incorrect information from my posts.

You are also assuming it’s as easy as requesting to see a different person.

i don’t know what’s so controversial about saying no badges. Yet you have an issue with that. Not sure why but this is getting nowhere. I’m sure everyone feels really comfortable with you so it’s fine. 🙄

Antisemitism is real, serious, and should be challenged wherever it occurs. Jewish people should not be made to feel unsafe or held responsible for the actions of any government. I go on many marches with Jewish people and people of all faiths and non who are aware of what is happening to Palestinians and see it is as abhorrent and wrong. Who have issues with the number of journalists murdered who have issues with the destructions of hospitals. Who have issues with international journalists not been allowed in. Who have issues with people like Doctor Maynard’s testimony been minimised.
Just like antisemitism is not okay equally, Palestinians should not be collectively punished, dehumanised, or have their suffering dismissed because of the actions of others.
The problem with your argument is that you’re treating opposition to the destruction of Palestinians as support for antisemitism. They are not the same thing. Many Jewish people themselves oppose what is happening in Gaza and stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Their views and lived experiences are no less valid.
Wearing a Palestine badge and a white poppy does not mean “Israel bad, Palestine good”. It means opposing war, violence, and the suffering of civilians. If we can recognise antisemitism as wrong, we should also be able to recognise the suffering of Palestinians without turning it into a competition.
Empathy isn’t a finite resource. I can oppose antisemitism and oppose the destruction of Palestinians at the same time.

Why can't you just wear whatever badges you like on your own time - they are of no relevance to your job.

You're gonna have to expand on if you mean a pro Palestine badge is inherently anti-Semitic, if it isn't I'm not sure why you're conflating it with someone's experience of antisemitism.