Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) is amending its uniform policy to ensure that its hospitals maintain a neutral position. This follows  a complaint about a nurse wearing a lanyard in the design of a keffiyeh at the Royal Brompton Hospital, which is part of GSTT.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) was informed that one of the health workers in the Paediatric Outpatient department at Royal Brompton Hospital was wearing a lanyard featuring the pattern of the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf while on duty.  Before October 2023, she had worn the regular blue lanyard.

Several Jewish parents who regularly visit this paediatric outpatient department with their children were upset and worried by the lanyard and the fact that the nurse’s political views were so strongly held that she felt she must wear a keffiyeh-patterned lanyard,  implying that Jews and Israelis were not safe in her hands.

UKLFI wrote to GSTT pointing out that the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf has become an emblem of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, particularly during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.  By wearing this keffiyeh-patterned lanyard, this nurse was apparently expressing her support for Hamas, the group that massacred over 1200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023, including babies, children, women and the elderly, burning, raping, mutilating and torturing them, as well as kidnapping over 250 people.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, commented:  “It is particularly inappropriate for any health worker to be expressing their political views inside their hospital, where their priority is supposed to be the patients, not foisting their own political views on other people.  It is even more inappropriate for them to express their support for an organisation that has carried out such horrific atrocities.”

UKLFI also pointed out breaches of the Equality Act 2010, since this nurse had created a hostile and intimidating atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli patients and their carers.

GSTT has written to UKLFI confirming that it will bring in specific guidance regarding lanyards and badges, and a new uniform policy is being drafted to address this.

The letter said:  “Within the new policy there will be more specific detail regarding wearing Trust approved lanyards and badges which reflect Guys and St Thomas’ neutral position … And in the meantime, a thorough review of the whole of the Evelina Clinical Group areas (including the Brompton site) with regard to appropriate dress code has been conducted by the Heads of Nursing.”

“We are very disappointed to hear of the impact this had on the patient and immediate family, and note their confidence to speak up about the incident at the time.”

“Please rest assured, personal lanyards that resemble any political persuasion do not represent the views of the Trust or its values. The Trust has taken a neutral position on all humanitarian crises in the world, and this is reflected in the central communications from the Chief Executive and the Clinical Group.”

Caroline Turner commented: “We are pleased that the Trust is now changing its uniform policy so that staff are made aware that political symbols are not tolerated.”