NHS badges

Other groups who might be less likely to access healthcare -

• People who speak English as a foreign language
• People who use BSL
• Domestic abuse survivors
• Sexual abuse survivors
• Neurodiverse People
• People with dementia
• People with a disability (including invisible disabilities)
• People who have been through abuse (including adverse childhood experiences)
• People with literacy issues

I'm sure there's many more.

NHS Rainbow Badge also has its own dedicated Twitter account. I note there is an upcoming online talk on LGBTQ micro-aggressions midday Saturday 19th June for anyone interested.

FOI requests for associated costs show one trust spent £2783 on rainbow lanyards and another helpfully provided a spreadsheet showing a range of costs, eg for bunting and posters as well as lanyards totalling £2196.

My trust has just announced that patient facing staff shouldn't wear lanyards for reasons of infection control so perhaps they will disappear like a damp squib.

Rainbow badges have been around in the nhs for a while. The pledge looks like this - see attached - which I felt was fairly benign to be honest. But lesbians on mn told me they would perceive the badge as hostile.

They have the rainbow lanyards at my workplace, you have to pay for them. Alot of people have them as they are the fashion now, both asthetically and politically.
The pride rainbow is a symbol of support for womens oppression for me and has been for a long time now.
I find it offputting when ever I see it and just have to hope whoever is wearing it is unaware of the negative conotations.

oh good point @DazzlePaintedBattlePants and one i hadnt considered.

Absolutely Many religions think homosexuality is a sin, and supporting LGB would be akin to promoting forbidden behaviour.

NHS workers should not be outwardly displaying their political affiliations. Wearing the badge shows that you have signed up to a particular set of values that may seem hostile to a whole swathe of protected beliefs.

have you looked at the values, i cannot see where they are hostile

Better to have lots of awareness training across the board. It should be a basic assumption that whoever you are you will be treated with decency and respect whilst in NHS care.

This - NHS staff, by definition have obligations to support all patients - equally.

This includes patients sexed-based rights.

So not wearing a badge visibly shows that you haven't done the "pledge" - no pressure there then

NHS workers should not be outwardly displaying their political affiliations. Wearing the badge shows that you have signed up to a particular set of values that may seem hostile to a whole swathe of protected beliefs.

the staff follow trust values

Staff who sign it are advised they may sometimes need to call out hate speech, or report incidents of discrimination or acts of verbal or physical abuse “against patients, people who use our services, and staff (including contractor staff)”.

Safeguarding is everybody's job. You don't need a badge to do it.

Does the NHS encourage wearing a COEXIST badge to promote religious tolerance and respect for a plurality of views?

I'm afraid as an L person I would deeply concerned about the source of this 'pledge' and it was a symbol of committment to a political position…I would be likely to ask for someone not wearing a lanyard.

I found this Times comment rather poignant - and it exactly mirrors something Arty Morty said a few weeks ago - he used to find a rainbow comforting and now it creates apprehension.

I am a lesbian, and where the rainbow used to mean that i would be safe and accepted, it now makes me take a deep breath and wait for the onslaught of bluehairs telling me why I am evil.

If I feel like this, imagine what heterosexual people must think of it.

Exactly what delirium states. As a health professional it is a requirement to treat all patients equally with dignity and respect regardless of whether they fall under a protected characteristic. We shouldnt have to wear badges or pretty coloured lanyards to demonstrate that we are more likely than our non lanyard wearing person, to be kinder to people who are gay or lesbian. Neither should they be used to state you are an ally as that is political. What if i was turn up to work wearing an adult human female badge? after all women are a proctected characteristic.

I still will never understand why the LGBTQ community use the symbol of the rainbow.

I wear a rainbow badge on my lanyard because of it's symbol of Hope, waiting for the day I'll be told I can no longer wear it.

@YesIWorkForTheNHS there's an excellent comment on that thread which caught my eye -

'I already wear a lanyard that indicates that I will treat anyone who I interact with with courtesy and respect: it says "staff".'

i dont understand why not @Artichokeleaves

I do work in the public sector.

Are there pledges in place (within the NHS) for other protected groups?

Is the 'basic info of staff groups' of those who wear purple lanyards (for example) collected in the same way as this article describes?

No, it's really not like that at all…There's no pressure at all…I think if you don't work in the public sector/ NHS then it can be difficult to understand.

From the Times piece linked above:

A Scottish government briefing passed to this newspaper states that badges should only be awarded to staff who take the pledge and it advises that the numbers of badge-wearers “and basic info on staff groups wearing the badge” should be noted.

Health boards have been told not to keep records of individuals who do not take the pledge, but there are concerns among staff who feel under pressure to participate.

I'm afraid as an L person I would deeply concerned about the source of this 'pledge' and it was a symbol of committment to a political position.

a) that has no place at work in a public facing role demanding impartiality of care

b) there are many things about that political position that as an L person I find deeply hostile.

I would be likely to ask for someone not wearing a lanyard.

We made the "news" elsewhere in a previous discussion of this!
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3694882-NHS-rainbow-badges

Surely the point is that if it requires a "pledge" then it becomes a political statement. It shows an explicit position on a current political issue. It stops being merely an expression of sympathy. Should NHS staff be wearing political symbols at work?

Reported on the HSJ thread:

NHS staff in Scotland will be monitored to see if they are wearing "Pride" badges.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/aec64082-cbb4-11eb-b575-81b2a16c3be4?shareToken=203864c87d5e4519397c8dea43d8a407