Health officials in England have been heavily criticized after they prohibited nurses and doctors from saying that people who abuse alcohol are alcoholics. They instead insist that NHS staff simply say that these are people who misuse alcohol.
However, politicians have not taken lightly to the new rule. The Daily Mail reported that the Health Secretary ordered an investigation into a diktat by NHS quangos after coming to the realization that taxpayers had funded a guide that featured “inclusive communication.”
Not only this, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also suggested that staff refer to smokers as people who smoke; drug addicts as people who use drugs; and the homeless as those who experience homelessness, per the report.
NICE has even gone so far as to suggest that healthcare professionals should avoid using the terms “men” and “women,” claiming that it would be better to use “gender-neutral language.” But the group’s own website contains over 400 references to “men” and almost 1,000 uses of “women.”
These new suggestions have come at a substantial cost. The report noted that a Whitehall source had said that “NHS bodies should be spending money on patient care and frontline services rather than diversity and backroom bureaucracy.”
The NHS has been struggling as junior doctors and nurses have gone on strike recently, after it was reported that some of these health professionals are being paid less than fast-food workers.
The Daily Mail reported that there were around 201,000 cancellations last week when young doctors orchestrated a four-day walkout, resulting in 26,145 medical professionals not showing up each day.
Tory MP Nigel Mills reportedly told The Sun that the recent guidance rules were just “woke nonsense,” adding that the body “should stop being so politically correct and instead look to do something useful to help the country.”
However, NICE stated: “Our approach is consistent with the NHS and other health bodies and we keep the guide under review.”
