It begins! Calls for NHS lanyards to be removed because of the Nowak killing

[SocialistMammy]

I suppose this knee-jerk over-the-top reaction was inevitable.

There are calls today - including from Kemi Badenoch - for public sector staff, including the NHS! to stop wearing "political" lanyards.

These could be just showing that you're a decent person who opposes genocide, or that your patient is safe with you regardless of your sexuality or gender identity when they are being treated.

And this is all because .. of the murder of Henry Nowak.

So, despite the calls from Nowak's family not to politicise their poor boy's death - that's EXACTLY what the far right are now trying to do. And the NHS has NOTHING to do with that police officer.

Where this is heading looks very ugly - we've got a World Cup starting shortly, and that's going to mean England flags being used to attack minorities. Will footballers have to make statements about diversity being anti white? Probably - it feels like the far right think this is their time now and ANYTHING is up for grabs.

It will be lanyards today, deportations tomorrow. Mark my words.

Are you suggesting antisemitism doesn’t exist, @SocialistMammy, or that it is acceptable?

I agree with the posters who have said that lanyards showing support for one group may well leave others feeling excluded or unsafe. For example, I am gender critical, and do not believe that human beings can change sex, so seeing a lanyard supporting trans issues would leave me feeling very unsafe.

It's lost it's meaning hasn't it?

You don’t need to signal your virtue at work. You’re at work. Get on with it and leave your political opinions at the door.

This can't come in soon enough for me. I want to see a professional attitude with all patients made to feel safe and cared for. Absolutely no place for political signalling in hospitals.

I should also add - I trained as a nurse back in the 80s and never felt the need to advertise my political affiliations at work - I simply treated all my patients and colleagues with respect and fairness.

This!

The DEI racket has to end.

The amount of money and resources wasted on events, 'campaigns' and training is crippling our services. That inclides stupid lanyards.

The training is at best pointless, usually heavily biased, and at worst deliberately misinterpreting the law.

@SocialistMammy - why are you referring to him as “Nowak” ? No first name. It sounds contemptuous. Clearly very much the wrong sort of victim for someone exercised about displaying performative badges 😡

If you’re that affirmed in your beliefs then you shouldn’t need to wear them on your person to do your job.

If you’re truly good at your job then you don’t need to wear your beliefs on your person for others to feel safe.

Get a grip.

How does wearing a rainbow lanyard confirm you are a safe person for gay people? Don't you think that homophobic NHS workers would wear the lanyard in order to stay under the radar and hide their homophobia?

Op, I believe you are completely mistaken and either you heard it incorrectly or the BBC radio is yet again reporting incorrectly.

This is from the BbC site.

NHS staff could be barred from wearing political badges on their uniforms, such as pro-Palestinian symbols, as part of proposals to help tackle antisemitism.
The measure is one of several recommendations in a review by the government's independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann.

Nothing to do with the recent case...Do you accept you were incorrect to link the tragic case

His name is Henry and no you’ve got it wrong.

It's nothing to do with Henry Novak's murder; it's the results of a review regarding anti semitism. And quite right too. Everyone is entitled to their political views, but keep them out of the workplace

I think it's probably quite a good idea to work towards public spaces that are as neutral as possible. It's never going to actually be neutral, but we can try to take down the temperature between us, and create task focused spaces that don't require belief statements wherever possible.

By this I don't mean that people must conceal their beliefs, but there's a delta between hiding what you believe in and making placards and posters and waving flags and so on. We can find some balance here I think.

Instead of a lanyard showing that one specific group of people are ok with you, it's probably worth thinking about how as a profession HCPs can create a sense of general security that no matter who you are or what you believe, you will be treated humanely by the NHS. That's really the belief statement the general public are looking for from HCPs.

And some people are Jewish and maybe they would feel unsafe when they are in a vulnerable position receiving care from someone wearing a pro Palestinian badge. So what is the solution to making everyone feel safe? Maybe, just maybe if nobody was allowed to wear any badges or were only allowed to wear lanyards with their employers logo on it everyone would be happy. Radical i know but a really easy solution don't you think?

Maybe easier if the bastards wore badges to signal that they hate everyone?

I wish they would start the ban from tomorrow! The NHS is to place for people to bring their political views into work. If I was Jewish I wouldnt want to be treated by someone who had a pro palestine sign. The fact that they think its acceptable to have it shoved in my face says it all.

This report also has nothing to do with Henry's murder.

I wish this useless government would get on with actually doing something quickly. They seem more interested in slagging each other off via WhatsApp, 'losing' phones, or having a system whereby their texts are automatically deleted.

Stopping this practice is well overdue, and for reasons that have nothing to do with Henry Nowak. I don't think anyone should bring their political views to work unless they work in politics, but they certainly shouldn't be doing it when they are employed by the state. And I am sick of seeing certain political movements be given carte blanche to push their cause when that cause is associated with widespread intimidation of particular groups. The wearing of rainbow lanyards and Palestinian flags are particularly problematic. Workplaces should never have allowed that kind of virtue signalling and agenda pushing in the first place!

It isn't about the righteousness of the cause you're championing.

NHS staff should not be displaying their own personal bias because this should not be impacting their service provision.

It's the NHS, people who are racist/sexist/homophobic or whatever are entitled to receive the same standard of care regardless. We should all feel safe because we receive equal treatment.

YABU.

Political signalling in the NHS is pathetic. I don’t give a flying furk what their current beliefs are, I’m not there to chat to them about mind - wank. Tedious signalling, stop it already, quiten down and just do the job.

Safety should come from respectful, warm, compassionate care, and should be provided to everyone regardless of any political affiliation. If I need a badge to say I’m “safe” there’s a problem, it should be evident in my manner and behaviour.

No badge in the world will make up for practitioners who are short with people, disrespectful and uncaring. Wearing a badge doesn’t guarantee the person actually lives out those values. Performative pish at best.

Couldn't agree more with this. Nobody needs to know your political or bleeding heart causes whilst you are at work so it can't come soon enough

And for fuck's sake, stop labelling anything that doesn't align with left wing ideology "far right". It's extremely tedious

I support this. Police, eco action and healthcare staff should all be politically neutral in the workplace. Work lanyards only.

Staff should be wearing ONLY NHS issued lanyards and name badges etc. Patients’ care is covered by the Equality Act and the NHS’s own policies…they don’t need to be informed of the personal political beliefs of the staff member…a patient should EXPECT to be treated properly, regardless of what the staff member believes…they are there to do a job, and to do it without discrimination.

Imagine someone who is a known gender theory critic (such as JK Rowling), being admitted to an NHS hospitals and being treated by staff displaying badges/lanyards which contradict her own beliefs. All this does is make the patient afraid that they won’t be cared for in the same way because of this difference in belief. The same for someone who is very obviously Jewish being treated by staff wearing pro-Palestine attire. Those staff may still do their jobs properly, but the patient will be in fear that they won’t. You also have the issue of the staff member who chooses not to join in with having a rainbow badge for personal belief reasons, then you have the gay patient who notices this specific staff member hasn’t done it and getting worried the lack of a badge could mean the person will not care about them as a patient properly.

If you want an NHS where there isn’t discrimination and isn’t fear of discrimination…the best way to do that is keep politics out of it completely. Staff are there to do their job, not show their personal beliefs or their individuality to the patients. They should be in NHS issues uniform only, and not display any symbols aside from the NHS Trust’s local logo.

If I’m in hospital getting my leg in plaster, I care about the staff’s ability to do the task, I couldn’t care less about their personal beliefs, it doesn’t matter either way to me whether they align with my own views.

If you had a choice of three surgeons to operate on a brain tumour, the logical thing would be to look at their CV’s, their experiences and qualifications, their success rates…you wouldn’t choose who to give the job to based on their views on Palestine.

Kemi is correct on this, although I don’t see the direct link between this issue and the murder, maybe it’s general issue that is across all public services, as it was the Police who were the issue in that case.

I worked for a Local Authority a few years ago, I don’t remember a single person EVER feeling the need to wear a badge/lanyard in the office to display their political views…I think this is recent problem that needs nipping in the bud.