Anger as one of Britain’s oldest hospitals orders its staff
not to wear Union Jack badges on their stab proof vests any more.
This ban comes after a complaint was lodged by a member of
the public, after which 12 employees of the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) were
instructed in an email instructed them not to wear the flags on their uniforms
again.
Around half of the hospital’s security staff had been
wearing Velcro Union Jack badges for the past two months, according to an
insider at the hospital.
According to a source: “After a complaint from a member of
the general public you are to remove the Union Jacks from stab vests.”
The banning of the badges, which are smaller than a credit
card, has upset the security guards, according to a hospital worker.
The member of staff, who did not want to be named, said:
“The badges have been a recent thing. The security guards got new stab vests
that had Velcro on them and so decided to get the badges.
“It is an insult to the British people that they are having
to be taken off.
“All the security staff are upset about it and cannot quite
believe there has been a complaint.
“The staff are doing their best for everyone in the
hospital, trying to keep people safe and a complaint like this is made.
“Personally I find it offensive that someone is offended
that much by the Union Jack.”
It was confirmed by spokesman for University Hospitals
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust that staff were told to remove the flag from their
uniforms after a complaint.
He said: “We were contacted recently by a member of the
public who saw security officers at the Bristol Royal Infirmary wearing Union
Jack flag patches on their uniforms.
"The member of the public commended the security staff
on how well they dealt with a difficult incident and asked about a union jack
patch that they had on their uniforms as they had not seen it before on an NHS
uniform.
“Our trust policy says that uniforms cannot be altered or
personalised and that only professional badge adornments are permitted.
"Security staff were therefore reminded of this and
asked to remove any non-authorised badges or symbols from their uniforms.
"We also shared with them compliment from the member of
public.”
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