NHS staff could be banned from wearing pro-Palestine badges on their uniforms and prohibited from attending political protests in their scrubs, under a raft of recommendations accepted in full by NHS England following an independent review into antisemitism and racism within the health service.
The proposals were put forward by Lord John Mann, the Government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, whose review found that some Jewish patients and NHS workers felt compelled to hide their religious identity while using or working in health services, raising serious concerns about discrimination at the heart of Britain’s most trusted institution.
Among the key recommendations is a ban on all political symbols being displayed on NHS uniforms — including pro-Palestinian badges — alongside a prohibition on staff wearing their scrubs or uniform when attending political protests. The review also calls for stronger accountability for NHS managers, improved recording of racist incidents and changes to allow more patients to record their ethnicity as Jewish.
The review forms part of a wider series of investigations commissioned in the aftermath of the deadly attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester in October 2025. A Jewish A&E doctor had already told the BBC she felt uncomfortable seeing colleagues wearing pro-Palestinian badges while on shift — an account that illustrated precisely the kind of environment Lord Mann’s review was established to address.
Lord Mann said the findings pointed to a fundamental breach of the NHS’s founding principles. “Jewish people have to be confident that they will receive the same treatment as everyone else, at all times in all situations,” he said. “If people feel, as they do, that some have to hide their identity as patients or suffer in silence as staff, then the universality of the NHS is fundamentally breached. The solutions are simple but require a consistency of approach across the whole of the NHS and clear leadership at the top and across all NHS trusts.”
NHS England chief executive Jim Mackey said the health service would implement all of the recommendations without exception. “We accept all of the recommendations in Lord Mann’s review and as a leadership community, we will act swiftly to implement them,” he said. “The NHS at its best is a place of compassion, care and unity — not conflict — and there is unacceptable antisemitism and racism in the NHS, faced by both our staff and our patients and we must root this out.”
Health Secretary James Murray also pledged swift action, saying the proposals would be put into motion without delay. “The NHS was built on the principle that everyone should be treated equally and with respect. Racism and discrimination betray everything the NHS stands for and its ability to provide safe, world class care,” he said. “I know that Jewish people — and everyone experiencing discrimination — need action not words.”
