Saturday, May 23, 2009

Wouldn't it be better if hospitals wiped the floors...

...rather than persecuting Christians.

From today's Times:

A CHRISTIAN hospital worker is facing the sack after refusing orders to remove her crucifix on health and safety grounds. Helen Slatter 43, was told by bosses at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital to remove her cross as it 'could harbour infection'.

She was summoned to a disciplinary meeting and warned she would be sent home unless she took it off. Slatter, a devout Catholic, claims she is being forced to choose between her faith and her job. She has worked at the hospital for five years as a phlebologist, collecting blood from patients.


The hospital authorities assure us that it has nothing to do with Religion and everything to do with hygiene.

Yeah, right!

11 comments:

  1. It is standard policy in most hospitals for everybody who is involved in patient care, that all kinds of jewelry are forbidden. Of course the level of enforcement varies from hospital to hospital, but it's probably even in her contract, so the employer is well with in their right to demand this. This also applies to wedding bands for example, so why not to a crucifix (a necklace presumably?)?

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  2. They'll be asking for removal of nails and other body parts next because they're unhygenic!
    Mind you there are some nasty bugs in hospitals these days, a place to go if you want to get sick! take care!

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  3. Yeah, right!Um, they are right, as can be seen here, here, and here. And probably elsewhere.

    Feel free to get acquainted with Google's search service at any time.

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  4. @ they kind of are ... this is also why nurses/doctors shouldn't have long nails and wear gloves often. It is both for the protection of the caretaker and the protection of the patient.

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  5. I doubt she'd be threatened with the sack if she was an adherent of the 'Religion of Peace'.

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  6. I would have thought this could be easily solved by a routine of sterilising the item.

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  7. Maybe she should convert to Islam, I am sure they would treat icons of the Islamic faith exactly the same?

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  8. On this one I'm with the hospital authorities.

    For the same reason as on Planet Formertory, doctors (male or female) would be forbidden from wearing their hair long, and males from having facial hair of any description (including protruding nostril hairs). Ties and tweed jackets would be forbidden, and (in the case I'm thinking of, female) doctors who have an interest in - and keep - horses would be forbidden from turning up to work wearing clothes that had clearly been in recent close proximity to said horses.

    Ties, tweed jackets, facial hair and long hair, not to mention jewellery, are all on display amongst the medical staff at our local hospital. Disgraceful really, especially as the hospital has recently had its first cases of c.difficile. I presume MRSA is waiting in the wings; or failing that, in some ignorant but highly-qualified git's beard.

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  9. Alice,

    More and more of your posts are non-banking/housing/economics nowadays.

    The tags for this post is UK & Uk Banking?

    Put simply, I'm not interested in fricking NHS hygene or MP's expenses or whatever you want to moan about - stick to the day job before alienating long term subscribers!!

    Thanks!

    Andy

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  10. Andy, I'm sure that if you no longer wish to subscribe, Alice will refund the money you have paid.

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  11. And this has what to do the blog title?

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