A major review into NHS maternity and neonatal services has found evidence of “explicit antisemitic attitudes” among a small number of NHS staff, with Jewish families saying they have hidden their identity in the hope of receiving better care.
Published on Tuesday, the independent maternity review by Baroness Amos found that Jewish women and families, along with other minority groups, have experienced discrimination in the NHS.
Among the cases of antisemitism within maternity and neonatal services highlighted in the report, is an account from a Jewish family who alleged a member of staff told them that “Jewish people are sneaky”.
Jewish doctors and birth workers said the findings underscored the need for action to tackle antisemitism across the NHS.
Dr Fiona Sim, chair of the Jewish Medical Association, said the report “reinforces the urgent need for remedial action across the whole healthcare system”.
B.J. Woodstein, co-founder and spokeswoman for Shifrah, a group of Jewish birth workers, described the review as “a damning assessment of how challenging and even dangerous it can be for Jewish staff and patients to engage with the NHS”.
The report authors gathered evidence from Jewish families and healthcare workers, including Shifrah, as well as staff and families from other communities.
It found that “Muslim and Jewish families received poor treatment from staff, which they felt was shaped by their religious affiliation.”
It states that Jewish families “experienced staff being unhelpful or speaking to them aggressively” and, in a small number of cases, “families reported more explicit antisemitic attitudes”.
“As a result of these experiences, some families felt compelled to conceal their religious identity to receive better care,” the report goes on.
“This included removing clothing that identified their religious identity or avoiding requests that might identify them as Muslim or Jewish,” it adds.
In her report, Lady Amos recognised some services “did not make families feel welcome”, leading some to turn to doulas to “act as a buffer” between them and NHS staff, and to help ensure “better culturally competent care”.
The JC previously revealed how Jewish women had enlisted the help of doulas while giving birth in NHS hospitals over a fear of antisemitism in the post-October 7 landscape.
Doulas are non-medical professionals who give families physical and emotional support during pregnancy, childbirth, and after the baby is born.
The report cited the findings of Lord Mann's review of antisemitism and discrimination in the NHS, published earlier this month.
“While racism and religious discrimination are distinct, they are often experienced through similar behaviours and interpersonal biases. A recent review into antisemitism and racism in the NHS noted that ‘addressing antisemitism cannot happen in isolation; it is part of how we tackle racism in all forms,’” the report states.
Elsewhere, Lady Amos found black women in the UK are almost three times more likely to die in the year after pregnancy than white women.
The report called for the NHS to treat racism, discrimination and inequality as a “critical maternity safety issue”, starting work immediately.
The report also recommended that families should have the ability to request an independent investigation of their care when things go wrong or they disagree with the findings of internal NHS reviews.
Lady Amos said there was a need to improve hospital culture and teamwork between midwives, obstetricians and other medics, and a need to ensure obstetric consultants and anaesthetists are available on a delivery unit “24 hours a day, seven days a week”.
The government has agreed to the core recommendations of the review, including appointing the UK's first ever maternity and neonatal commissioner.
Speaking to the JC, Dr Sim said: “The same issues raised by Lord Mann about racial and other forms of discrimination are evidenced in this report specifically about maternity care, which sadly come as no surprise, but reinforce the urgent need for remedial action across the whole healthcare system.”
She said that Lord Mann “set out some straightforward actions that, if implemented throughout the NHS, including in maternity and neonatal services, would make a difference to the experience of Jewish patients and of Jewish staff, and to other groups that experience discrimination.
“We welcome the recognition in the report to various forms of discrimination, including against Jewish patients, families and staff. “Addressing such discrimination systematically will take focused action, working in partnership not only nationally, but with local Jewish communities and other minority groups. Recommendations 5, 6 and 7 appear to address the issues and will need keen oversight by the proposed Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner to ensure implementation.”
Russell Langer, Director of Public Affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), said "It is vital that Jewish patients accessing maternity services are able to trust that they will be treated without prejudice, and the NHS must be a safe workplace for Jewish staff.
“The findings of the Amos report into maternity care reinforce the findings of the Lord Mann report and highlight the urgent need for the government, the NHS and regulators to implement his recommendations without delay."
Referring to the recent controversy at the British Medical Association, Woodstein added: “Rather than moving backwards and exacerbating the situation, as the BMA appears to want to do, it is essential that we see real change within the NHS and more broadly in British society.
“Jewish individuals and families deserve equitable and unprejudiced working conditions, treatment and service,” she said.
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