‘This is just awake nonsense’: Anger as health bosses scrap the word ‘alcoholic’ while telling staff to say ‘people who abuse alcohol’ instead
- Health bosses have told NHS staff to refer to alcoholics as people who abuse alcohol
Wake’s chiefs of health have been met with anger after she banned doctors and nurses from saying ‘alcoholics’ to NHS staff instead calling them people who abuse alcohol.
It is the latest bureaucratic decision by health bosses to be criticized by politicians.
Last month the health minister ordered an inquiry into an NHS quangos diktat after learning that taxpayers had funded a guide to ‘inclusive communication’.
In this latest attack, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) also said staff should refer to drug addicts as people who use drugs; smokers as people who smoke; and sleepers like people who are homeless.
Even the words ‘men’ and ‘women’ are too much for Nice, who believes the NHS should adhere to ‘gender neutral language’.
Health bosses have told NHS staff to call alcoholics people who abuse alcohol (File image)
However, the group’s own website lists 475 references to “men” and 947 to “women.”
Meanwhile, Alcoholics Anonymous has continued to use the disapproved word.
Last month, a Whitehall source said that ‘NHS agencies should be spending money on patient care and frontline services rather than diversity and backroom bureaucracy’.
Following these latest revelations, Tory MP Nigel Mills said The sun the guidance was just “woke up bullshit” begging the body to focus on doing something useful to help the country.
The NHS is under extreme pressure from strikes by young doctors and nurses.
There were at least 201,000 cancellations last week as young doctors staged a four-day strike, resulting in an average absence of 26,145 medics per day.
Last month, Health Secretary Steve Barclay (pictured) ordered an inquiry into an NHS quangos dictation after learning that taxpayers had funded a guide to ‘inclusive communication’
It means the total has now risen above 531,000 since December due to union action by doctors, nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists.
NHS England said the real impact was likely to have been much greater as not all hospitals provided staffing details and many had avoided scheduling consultations on these dates.
But last week the Royal College of Nursing threatened strikes until Christmas and hinted at collaborating with young doctors.
Conservative ministers warned the NHS pay deal was a ‘full and final offer’ and even Labor said it could not support strikes that ‘endanger patient safety’.
Nice said: ‘Our approach is consistent with the NHS and other health authorities and we are keeping a close eye on the guide.’