Latest news with #BartsHealthNHSTrust
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'The state of hospital buildings is unacceptable'
Looking around the dilapidated wards of Hillingdon Hospital in north-west London, Health minister Karin Smyth says she "knows people deserve better services". "I'm from Hillingdon, so I really do understand the difficulties that staff are working in here," she told BBC London. Hillingdon was the only London trust to get the go-ahead for a new hospital as part of the current New Hospital Programme. Ms Smyth said the state of hospital buildings across London was "unacceptable". London's hospitals have been given about £160m of emergency cash from an Estates Safety Fund to try to keep them running until they can be replaced, but trusts say the money is not enough to cover the repairs needed. Ms Smyth said: "We know there's been disappointment, a lot of delays, but this new government has got on with the review - we want to see this got on with now." She added: "When we came in as a new government last July, there wasn't funding for any of these schemes beyond March. "We understand the disappointment in other communities - but we have sought to put this programme now on a firm financial footing for the first time. That didn't happen before." Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, is not dissimilar to Hillingdon. Shane DeGaris, the chief executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, described it as having "really substandard facilities". It was due to be rebuilt by 2026, but following a review of the New Hospitals Programme, the work has been delayed. Now the only part to be rebuilt before 2033 is the car park. The trust estimates the delays to rebuilding the hospital will cost £200m. At St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, walls are crumbling around patients. The government has delayed the building of a new hospital there until 2035. In the meantime, the hospital's trust has been given £25m from the government for repairs to energy systems, electrical systems, water systems, ventilation systems, fire safety works and drainage works. But this must be shared between St Mary's, Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals. The trust estimates it will spend over £100m on repairs at St Mary's Hospital alone until it is rebuilt. St Helier Hospital, in south London, was given the go-ahead for a new hospital in 2020, but that has now been delayed until 2033. The hospital, which opened in 1941, recently reported having to knock down a ward due to sinking foundations and windows falling out. The trust that runs it, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Our ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than we can fix them." It estimates the costs of the delays to upgrades needed to both St Helier, and Epsom hospitals will amount to an additional £150m a year. It has been given £12m as part of the Estates Safety Fund. Last month, Ken Welch, former director of facilities, estates and supplies at St Helier Hospital, said the condition of the buildings raised serious concerns. "I've seen a lot in 30 years working in the NHS, but the condition of the buildings at St Helier is among the worst," he said. "I'm seriously concerned about the risk of fire, particularly with the growing use of corridor care. But most of all, I'm worried about the safety of the patients." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Hospitals may close without upgrades, bosses fear Crumbling hospital must be rebuilt - trust boss Hospital infrastructure 'among worst in NHS' New Hospitals Programme
Telegraph
15-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
London hospitals ban Palestine flags after Jewish patients complain
Staff at some of London's biggest NHS hospitals have been banned from wearing pro-Palestine symbols after complaints they were 'upsetting and intimidating' vulnerable patients. Barts Health NHS Trust confirmed the decision after a lawyers' group said growing numbers of Jewish patients were reporting their distress at seeing clinical and medical staff wearing provocative slogans and badges in Palestinian colours. The trust's ban will apply to its five hospitals: St Bart's, Mile End, Newham, Royal London and Whipps Cross. The move came after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) raised the case of a young Jewish woman who attended Whipps Cross for a caesarean and encountered three members of staff wearing pro-Palestine badges in a 24-hour period. Two wore 'Free Palestine' badges on their lanyards and one had a watermelon symbol, a reference to the Palestinian colours, pinned to their uniform. The woman, who attended Whipps Cross in January, said: 'The display of these symbols made me feel extremely vulnerable, particularly given the level of anti-Semitic activity we're all witnessing via the extreme elements of online activity and at the UK-wide marches. 'While waiting for surgery … I felt panicked as each person walked in that they too would be wearing a badge and that my care may be jeopardized or that someone who dislikes Jewish people or Israel would be responsible for the delivery of my child which, even if not a risk to my health, feels wholly unpleasant.' She added: 'I understand the strength of feeling from those deeply concerned about the conflict. However, I do not see that it is reasonable to have political views on display in the workplace, particularly when dealing with patients at their most vulnerable and when the conflict and the symbolism surrounding it are so deeply complex. 'I equally feel that an Israeli flag on a lanyard would be inappropriate. 'One of the staff wearing a Palestinian flag was responsible for checking my baby's eyesight when he was under one day old – so at a time when I should have been recuperating and receiving the highest quality support and care, I was instead feeling panicked about the interaction. 'If nothing else, it was a time – for one day – when I wanted to shut out the outside world and was instead faced with a reminder of the increasing threats against the safety of Jewish people, even if not perpetrated by these individuals.' Her case was the latest in a number of incidents across Barts Health NHS Trust which UKLFI said had left Jewish patients distressed, in the wake of Israel's military response to the October 7 attacks. In January, an outpatients receptionist at Royal London Hospital was seen wearing a black T-shirt showing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf covering the map of Israel. A patient complained, stating: 'I am Jewish, and a proud East End British Jew at that, with my grandmother born in this very hospital. 'This type of a diagram is depicting Israel being taken over totally and is very provocative to somebody who is Jewish and indeed I have family living in Israel as well. 'I do not think it is correct that members of staff … wear such types of T-shirts with pictures in an NHS environment.' UKLFI also said a Jewish man having dialysis at Whipps Cross Hospital last November was confronted with a work experience student wearing a football shirt showing the map of Palestine over the whole of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Another elderly Jewish man being treated at Barts was left 'deeply distressed' after seeing a staff member wearing a Palestinian badge. UKLFI warned the trust that it risked breaching the Equality Act 2010 and its own policies on racism by allowing Jewish and Israeli patients to feel harassed by staff wearing deliberately provocative symbols. Following the group's complaint, Whipps Cross confirmed it had carried out a review of its dress code and would no longer allow the display of political symbols. Dr Amanjit Jhund, the chief executive of Whipps Cross University Hospital, wrote in a letter to UKLFI: 'The revised policy will be going live this week and will say: Our staff are expected not to be wearing or displaying political symbols, eg badges, lanyards, or clothing with political slogans, ideology or national flag. 'The purpose of adopting a position of political neutrality is to foster an environment of inclusivity.' The new policy extends to all the hospitals in the Barts NHS Trust group. In December, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, called on regulators to strike-off doctors who bring extremist views about Gaza into the workplace, in response to anti-Semitism in the NHS. Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said: 'We are pleased that the new dress code has been introduced, and hope that it will be communicated clearly to all staff. Those who breach the code should be subject to appropriate disciplinary actions.' A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust said: 'We are reissuing our uniform policy to make clear that staff are not expected to wear or display political symbols, including badges and slogans or flags on clothing. 'Our dress code upholds our political neutrality in order to contribute to an inclusive culture at work.'
