Conservatives would ban political badges in NHS

Health secretary Victoria Atkins has said a Conservative Government will ban NHS workers from wearing political badges.

Victoria Atkins (c) UK Parliament

Victoria Atkins (c) UK Parliament

Speaking to The Jewish Chronicle, Atkins said she had already held conversations with NHS England about a ban.

Atkins said: ‘Our hospitals, surgeries and other healthcare settings should not be places where individuals express their political views, but environments that enable people simply to get health care quickly and safely.

‘Working with NHS England, I know they share these concerns, as do NHS trust executives — and indeed, the overwhelming majority of people who work in the NHS.'

Atkins was speaking following a surge in the number of doctors, nurses and other NHS staff wearing Palestinian badges since massacre of Israelis by militant Palestinian groups on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Gaza conflict.

The health secretary also referred to an incident where a nine-year-old Jewish boy was allegedly thrown out of bed at Manchester Royal Infirmary by a nurse wearing Palestinian flags.

Incidents of antisemitism are on the rise with 66 allegations reported to the General Medical Council between 7 October 2023 and the end of March 2024 compared with none in 2022. 

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