NHS Trust advises members NOT to attend ‘inappropriate’ antisemitism training
EXCLUSIVE: Chief executive of Central and North West London Foundation Trust apologises to antisemitism charity for 'poor process and error on our part'
The head of one of the largest health organisations in the UK has apologised following publication of a message advising members against attending professional antisemitism training.
NHS Central and North West London Foundation Trust (CNWL) provides healthcare to a third of London’s population and across Milton Keynes. A free online 90 minute workshop, entitled “Antisemitism: what it is, its roots and modern manifestations” is scheduled for the morning of Thursday 5 September.
It is being delivered to members of CNWL by Danny Stone, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust.
It’s unclear how many had signed up to the training, but CNWL released an update via its weekly bulletin stating that it had “become aware of concerns regarding the antisemitism training that was recently advertised to staff.”
It goes on to add that it believes the training and its “content may be inappropriate”, advises “all staff” against attending and says “it is conducting an investigation into “our training approval processes to prevent similar incidents in the future”.
Jewish News has seen subsequent correspondence from Claire Murdoch, chief executive of the Trust, to her colleagues, saying that despite being on holiday, she wants to “swiftly and personally address” the “situation”. She adds that the note about the antisemitism training “did not go through our usual sign-off processes” and promises to “get to the bottom of it”.
She refers to “a small number of concerns raised by some individuals and via the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) network with the Trust about the Antisemitism training”.
She adds that she has “personally telephoned the CEO of the Antisemitism Policy Trust this morning to apologise for what I can only describe as poor process and error on our part.”
An Antisemitism Policy Trust spokesperson told Jewish News: “We understand that an internal procedural error led to the Central and Northwest London NHS Trust distributing a message about a session run by the Antisemitism Policy Trust that should not have been sent. We are pleased that the Trust has now endorsed our training and encouraged its members to attend, and we were grateful for the apology we received.
“We are proud to have run educational events for organisations large and small, across different sectors and to have received consistently positive feedback. We would encourage anyone considering such training to be in contact with us. As anti-Jewish racism continues to rise, it is vital that people have the tools to identify and challenge it.”
A spokesperson from NHS Central and North West London Foundation Trust told Jewish News: “The communication sent in the weekly bulletin regarding the antisemitism training on Monday was a mistake. We have issued an email to all staff from our Chief Executive, Claire Murdoch today to apologise for this mistake.”
As reported by Jewish News, MP Jess Phillips last week claimed she received preferential treatment from an NHS doctor for vocally expressing that she supported a Gaza ceasefire.
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