We are in the hands of the NHS when we are at our most vulnerable. When we are born, at the birth of our own children, when we are sick, injured, or coming to the end of our lives.
In these moments, more than anything else, we want to be able to trust entirely the people looking after us. We crave that security.
In government, I met some of the most amazing people working in our NHS. The ones who ran towards danger in Southport and fought to save those children; the ones who scrubbed up and went to work during the pandemic, while the rest of us retreated to safety; the ones who bring new life into the world; and the ones who hold our hands at the end.
The values of the health service couldn’t be clearer – healthcare should be provided free to all, regardless of income, race, or religion. There is a duty on the NHS to ensure that every patient who walks through its doors feels safe and respected during their care.
But it has become clear the NHS is failing in that duty. Doctors found to have said the most abhorrent things about Jewish people. Even worse, the medical regulators were allowing them to get away with it.
I felt ashamed to be our country’s Health and Social Care Secretary, when I sat with my constituents employed by the NHS, listening to the racism they experience at work as they broke down in tears. One worked alongside a self-proclaimed Jew-hater, who was reported and subsequently promoted. It was the woman who reported him who moved jobs.
I have spoken to Jewish patients who are worried to ask for kosher hospital food, for fear it identifies them as Jews. The Mann review, published today, found patients are even avoiding the NHS for fear of being treated differently. This is an affront to the founding values of the NHS – we cannot herald it as a universal service if some groups of our society don’t feel it is for them. The NHS is meant to be for everyone.
This is why I asked Lord Mann, the government’s antisemitism tsar, to review and make recommendations for tackling antisemitism and racism in the ranks of our National Health Service.
Earlier this year, we accepted the recommendations in his interim review to make it easier to boot out racists from the NHS, setting in train the most significant reform of medical regulation in over 40 years.
I welcome Lord Mann’s final report and the government’s acceptance of his recommendations. Rules and regulation are important, but so too are culture and understanding. No patient should ever feel they have to hide who they are, which is why NHS staff have duty to do more than not be racist – they need to create a welcoming and trusting environment.
NHS staff’s uniform carries with it the NHS’s values. It signals you are part of the NHS team. And when you step through the entrance of your workplace, you need to leave your views and your politics at the door. Wearing the badge of a political party or cause is alienating to people who do not share those values, and patients’ healthcare is more important than your opinions.
To be clear – this is about their politics, not their identity. There is a difference between wearing a kippah, hijab, or rainbow lanyard on the one hand, and a pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli badge on the other.
It is also important that antisemitism and anti-racism training is rolled out to NHS staff. At a time when our Jewish community has seen its ambulances set ablaze and increasing hostility on our streets, our response cannot just be higher walls and reinforced doors. We need to defeat racism and racist attitudes, to win hearts and minds, and to make our country a safe and respectful place for everyone. That starts with our country’s biggest public service, but it shouldn’t end there. There is much more to do.
Wes Streeting MP is the former health secretary.
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