London hospitals ban Palestine flags after Jewish patients complain
Barts Health NHS Trust confirmed the decision after a lawyers' group said growing numbers of Jewish patients were reporting their distress at seeing clinical and medical staff wearing provocative slogans and badges in Palestinian colours.
The trust's ban will apply to its five hospitals: St Bart's, Mile End, Newham, Royal London and Whipps Cross.
The move came after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) raised the case of a young Jewish woman who attended Whipps Cross for a caesarean and encountered three members of staff wearing pro-Palestine badges in a 24-hour period.
Two wore 'Free Palestine' badges on their lanyards and one had a watermelon symbol, a reference to the Palestinian colours, pinned to their uniform.
The woman, who attended Whipps Cross in January, said: 'The display of these symbols made me feel extremely vulnerable, particularly given the level of anti-Semitic activity we're all witnessing via the extreme elements of online activity and at the UK-wide marches.
'While waiting for surgery … I felt panicked as each person walked in that they too would be wearing a badge and that my care may be jeopardized or that someone who dislikes Jewish people or Israel would be responsible for the delivery of my child which, even if not a risk to my health, feels wholly unpleasant.'
She added: 'I understand the strength of feeling from those deeply concerned about the conflict. However, I do not see that it is reasonable to have political views on display in the workplace, particularly when dealing with patients at their most vulnerable and when the conflict and the symbolism surrounding it are so deeply complex.
'I equally feel that an Israeli flag on a lanyard would be inappropriate.
'One of the staff wearing a Palestinian flag was responsible for checking my baby's eyesight when he was under one day old – so at a time when I should have been recuperating and receiving the highest quality support and care, I was instead feeling panicked about the interaction.
'If nothing else, it was a time – for one day – when I wanted to shut out the outside world and was instead faced with a reminder of the increasing threats against the safety of Jewish people, even if not perpetrated by these individuals.'
Her case was the latest in a number of incidents across Barts Health NHS Trust which UKLFI said had left Jewish patients distressed, in the wake of Israel's military response to the October 7 attacks.
In January, an outpatients receptionist at Royal London Hospital was seen wearing a black T-shirt showing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf covering the map of Israel.
A patient complained, stating: 'I am Jewish, and a proud East End British Jew at that, with my grandmother born in this very hospital.
'This type of a diagram is depicting Israel being taken over totally and is very provocative to somebody who is Jewish and indeed I have family living in Israel as well.
'I do not think it is correct that members of staff … wear such types of T-shirts with pictures in an NHS environment.'
UKLFI also said a Jewish man having dialysis at Whipps Cross Hospital last November was confronted with a work experience student wearing a football shirt showing the map of Palestine over the whole of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Another elderly Jewish man being treated at Barts was left 'deeply distressed' after seeing a staff member wearing a Palestinian badge.
UKLFI warned the trust that it risked breaching the Equality Act 2010 and its own policies on racism by allowing Jewish and Israeli patients to feel harassed by staff wearing deliberately provocative symbols.
Following the group's complaint, Whipps Cross confirmed it had carried out a review of its dress code and would no longer allow the display of political symbols.
Dr Amanjit Jhund, the chief executive of Whipps Cross University Hospital, wrote in a letter to UKLFI: 'The revised policy will be going live this week and will say: Our staff are expected not to be wearing or displaying political symbols, eg badges, lanyards, or clothing with political slogans, ideology or national flag.
'The purpose of adopting a position of political neutrality is to foster an environment of inclusivity.'
The new policy extends to all the hospitals in the Barts NHS Trust group.
In December, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, called on regulators to strike-off doctors who bring extremist views about Gaza into the workplace, in response to anti-Semitism in the NHS.
Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said: 'We are pleased that the new dress code has been introduced, and hope that it will be communicated clearly to all staff. Those who breach the code should be subject to appropriate disciplinary actions.'
A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust said: 'We are reissuing our uniform policy to make clear that staff are not expected to wear or display political symbols, including badges and slogans or flags on clothing.
'Our dress code upholds our political neutrality in order to contribute to an inclusive culture at work.'
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