We must tackle hatred and ensure the NHS is welcoming to Jews

Our Jewish communities should always feel welcome, safe, and included in Britain’s public bodies, perhaps the NHS most of all. Yet Lord John Mann’s review into antisemitism and other forms of racism, in one of our most cherished institutions, reveals experiences no patient or staff member should ever have to endure.

His findings are stark.

Jewish people working in the NHS are feeling unwelcome, disrespected, and marginalised.

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Jewish patients likewise feel reluctant to seek medical help, fearful they will also suffer the irrational judgement of non-Jewish medical staff and receive compromised care as a result.

And worryingly for the longer term, some Jewish clinicians have begun to consider whether a future in the health service is worth it. It breaks my heart to read such findings, and I know these things ripple through communities.

It’s a strength of feeling I know is felt within and beyond government, which is why we are determined to act. We are accepting Lord Mann’s recommendations to my department and the NHS for combatting antisemitism and racism.

Whoever you are, whatever you believe, whomever you love, NHS clinicians should treat you, and their colleagues, in exactly the same way: as human beings to be valued and respected.

So, we are taking action. Within six months, all NHS trust chairs and chief executives will undertake mandatory anti-racism training that includes specific content on antisemitism.

The equality, diversity and human rights training completed by around 1.5 million NHS staff will be updated to include enhanced material on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

NHS employers are the first line of defence for patients and staff against discrimination. Boards and senior leaders will be required to take responsibility for race equality outcomes and staff experience, with clear objectives for improvement and stronger oversight.

Meanwhile, a new NHS Staff Standard focused on tackling racism, will set out minimum expectations for how organisations prevent, respond to and learn from incidents of discrimination.

Healthcare regulators must also play their part, and the review sets out clear recommendations for them, and seeks to clarify the role employers play alongside that regulatory oversight.

The report is also clear that the NHS brand must be protected, and uniform policy should be updated to make sure it is not misused as a political symbol or other identifier.

So, this is not a report to be filed away. Procrastination only prolongs the pain. This is an unequivocal programme for change, and we must work together to deliver it.

Antisemitism and all other forms of racism are fundamentally incompatible with the founding values of the NHS.

Our collective challenge is to make sure our institutions live up to the standards we believe should define them, which is why this work extends beyond the health service.

To this end, the Government is investing in security for Jewish communities, strengthening action against antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities, and supporting other local populations affected by hatred and extremism.

Jewish communities have every right to expect more than expressions of concern or solidarity, heartfelt and genuine though these sentiments are.

Which is why we are bringing leaders together from across society to make sure antisemitism is called out and condemned wherever it appears.

Antisemitism is not someone else’s problem. It is a challenge for all of us.

Lord Mann’s recommendations provide the framework to meet that challenge, for our Jewish communities and for all those persecuted by those who would otherwise demean, discriminate, and divide us.

We will make sure the NHS is there, without prejudice, for all our diverse communities for many generations to come.

• James Murray, Secretary of State for Health & Social Care