21.12.16
Over 80% of healthcare workers say ‘no’ to British values oath
Plans to require public sector workers to swear an oath of allegiance to British values have been strongly opposed by NHS workers, according to a poll from the Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM).
Dame Louise Casey suggested the idea in the recent Casey Review, which attracted controversy for accusing some minority communities of failing to integrate into British society.
Moreover, Dame Louise said local public sector organisations were allowing practices that ran contrary to British values because of a “misguided” desire to respect cultural differences.
Sajid Javid, the communities and local government secretary, indicated in an article in The Sunday Times that the idea could become government policy, saying he was “drawn to” the idea that public sector staff and elected officials should “lead by example”.
He suggested that British values included democracy, freedom of religion and respect for the law.
However, when the IHM asked its members the question “Should public sector employees be required to sign an oath of allegiance?” via social media, 81% replied “No”.
Jill DeBene, chief executive of the IHM, argued that a British values oath was unsuitable for health and social care professionals in Britain, who are “recruited from across the international cultural and geographical spectrum”.
“What really unites them is a shared determination to deliver first class care to patients and other vulnerable members of society,” she added. “Talk of a collective mandatory allegiance to certain values is neither widely understood nor widely embraced. It is the quality of behaviours and delivery of exemplary skills that defines health and social care professionals.”
The BMA argued recently that overseas nationals play such an important role in healthcare that the NHS “would not exist” without them. It urged the government to end the ambiguity over the status of EU nationals working in the NHS since Brexit by granting them permanent residence.
Elsewhere, Teresa Pearce, the shadow secretary for communities and local government, said there was not “a shred of evidence” that an oath of allegiance would resolve the “complex and sensitive issues” uncovered in the Casey Review.
Would you pledge an oath to British values as part of working in the NHS? You can let the NHE team know your views via our poll, our comment section and our Facebook and Twitter pages.
(Image c. Joe Giddens from PA Wire/ PA Images)
Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an NHE columnist? If so, click here.