Rules about political neutrality too strong, say NHS staff

NHS staff have claimed that they are being prevented from speaking out during the election campaign because their bosses are applying rules about political neutrality too zealously.

Reports in the Guardian suggest that doctors, nurses and paramedics have argued that the instructions from their employers are oppressive and an attempt to stop them highlighting the fragile state of the NHS in the run-up to the 12 December poll. Among the restrictions, NHS organisations have banned staff from appearing in uniform or featuring any of their equipment, such as an ambulance, in their online posts or profiles.

The guidance sent to health service leaders on 5 November by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens was aimed at NHS bodies and stressed that ‘the NHS must act and be seen to act with political impartiality, and its resources must not be used for party political purposes’. However, there is no mention of banned behaviour on social media.

The guidance only claims that NHS employees ‘are free to undertake political activism in a personal capacity but should not involve their organisation or create the impression of their organisation’s involvement’.

A spokesperson for EveryDoctor, which campaigns to improve working conditions for doctors, said: “For many people, the NHS is the key issue this election season. The current conditions in the NHS are a direct consequence of nine years of planned austerity cuts by the government. To silence frontline NHS staff and prevent them from speaking up about the daily atrocities they witness is deeply wrong.”