Alfie Evans update: Hospital staff warned to ‘HIDE uniform’ outside work amid abuse fears
HEALTHCARE workers at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital have been warned to cover up their uniform and remove their ID badges outside of work over fears of hostility towards NHS staff prompted by the Alfie Evans case.
The seriously-ill toddler is a patient at the nearby Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where trust bosses said staff had been subjected to “unprecedented personal abuse”.
And despite Alfie not being a patient at the Royal Liverpool, staff there are being advised to remove their work uniform while off-site, the Liverpool Echo has reported.
A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool hospital said: “Following local reports of abuse towards NHS staff, we have provided our staff with advice regarding their own safety and security.
“Abuse of NHS staff or others whose role is to protect and care for others should not be tolerated.”
Merseyside Police last night issued a warning over abusive and threatening behaviour towards clinicians over social media.
The force said it would investigate any malicious messages posted online and act if required.
Alder Hey yesterday condemned the face-to-face, phone and online abuse directed at its staff.
Hospital bosses said the fact that a “significant police presence” was required to “keep our patients, staff and visitors safe” was “completely unacceptable”.
Alfie has been breathing without the help of life support since doctors switched off his ventilator on Monday night.
Medics have maintained there is no cure for the 23-month-old and continued treatment is futile.
His parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, have this week tried to convince the courts to allow them to take Alfie to a hospital in Italy, where the tot was recently granted citizenship.
Doctors in Rome say they are unable to cure the toddler, who is suffering from a degenerative brain condition, but have said they will continue to care for him.
But after a series of hearings, the Court of Appeal yesterday upheld a previous ruling which blocked Mr Evans and Ms James from taking Alfie overseas.
There were chaotic scenes at Alder Hey earlier this week after a group from the so-called “Alfie’s Army” tried to storm the hospital’s front door.
Police were forced to block the protestors from entering the building.
Some of the 200-strong group tried to force their way in after hearing the European Court of Human Rights had refused to intervene in Alfie’s case.
Alfie Evans' father claims the hospital staff hate his family
A statement issued by the senior management team at the University of Liverpool today urged anyone wanting to support Alfie’s family to do so in a “peaceful and respectful way that allows staff and visitors to go about their activities without fear of abuse or intimidation.”
The statement said: “We would like to add our support to the open letter published by the Chair and Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust on Wednesday, in relation to the case of Alfie Evans.
“A number of the University’s clinical staff spend part of their time working alongside NHS colleagues at Alder Hey to care for the hundreds of children and their families who rely on the hospital for treatment and support each day.
“While it is not appropriate for the University to comment on an individual patient’s care, we know that colleagues at the hospital strive to provide the very best available support to every patient and it is their expertise and commitment that have maintained Alder Hey’s reputation as an internationally renowned children’s hospital.
“Despite this, along with their colleagues at the Trust, many of the University’s staff at Alder Hey have experienced extreme and unjustified personal abuse in recent weeks as they have sought to go about their work.
“Meanwhile many families visiting the hospital for treatment have experienced unwanted and unhelpful additional stress as a result of the public presence outside the building.
“We would urge all those who wish to express a view on the very sad and difficult circumstances faced by Alfie and his family to do so in a peaceful and respectful way that allows staff and visitors to go about their activities without fear of abuse or intimidation.”