- Lord Mann sets out recommendations to tackle “routine ostracism” of Jewish people in the NHS, including stronger accountability and mandatory training.
- Report emphasises the role of NHS employers as first line of defence against racism and discrimination for patients and staff
- NHS employers will be required to meet new staff standards and complete mandatory anti-racism training to tackle antisemitism urgently
- Government clear that all racism in the NHS is abhorrent and reforms will protect Muslim, Black and minority ethnic, and Jewish staff and patients alike
NHS patients and staff will be better protected against hate, as the government has today responded to Lord John Mann’s review of antisemitism and other forms of racism across the NHS and healthcare regulatory system, accepting all recommendations for the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.
In the wake of a series of horrific attacks on the Jewish community across the country, including shocking examples of intimidation and abuse within the health service, Lord Mann was commissioned by the former Secretary of State and the Prime Minister in October 2025 to lead an urgent review into how the NHS and its regulatory system recognises, reports, and tackles antisemitism and other forms of racism.
Lord Mann has heard that Jewish people in the NHS experience “routine ostracism”, with Jewish staff being the only religious group in the latest NHS Staff Survey for whom discrimination from colleagues is rising rather than falling, resulting in some considering leaving the NHS.
The antisemitism identified extends to patients too. Some Jewish patients reported not wishing to present for treatment or putting off receiving important care.
The government is clear that all racism in the NHS is abhorrent, and NHS employers are the first line of defence and must be taking urgent action. With 16% of Muslim staff and 20% of Black and minority ethnic staff also reporting discrimination in the last year, the reforms will benefit everyone who experiences hatred or abuse in the health service.
The reforms include delivering mandatory antisemitism training for NHS leaders and introducing clear national guidance on uniform and responding to racist behaviour.
In addition, the government will shortly be publishing a new set of Staff Standards to better hold Trusts to account, including one on tackling racism that will set minimum expectations for how organisations must prevent, respond to, and learn from incidents of racism.
Secretary of State for Health, James Murray said
The NHS was built on the principle that everyone should be treated equally and with respect. Racism and discrimination betray everything the NHS stands for and its ability to provide safe, world class care.
Lord John Mann has made a series of robust and practical recommendations which we are accepting.
I know that Jewish people – and everyone experiencing discrimination – need action not words. Together with NHS England, we will waste no time in setting these recommendations in motion to build a health service that lives up to its values.
Tackling antisemitism cannot happen in isolation, and it is part of how this government is tackling racism in all forms in the NHS. The recommendations from this review will benefit all those who experience such discrimination or abuse.
Lord John Mann said
Jewish people have to be confident that they will receive the same treatment as everyone else, at all times in all situations. If people feel, as they do, that some have to hide their identity as patients or suffer in silence as staff, then the universality of the NHs is fundamentally breached.
The solutions are simple but require a consistency of approach across the whole of the NHS and clear leadership at the top and across all NHS trusts. The NHS as an employer must act as a responsible and inclusive employer and take the responsibility of making its employment and service to patients one that the entirety of the country, including our Jewish community, can feel and see is one that is for them as well as everybody else.
The government is supporting the recommendations in full, and accepting all recommendations for DHSC and NHS England, subject to consultation and further engagement with key stakeholders. It will work with organisations named in the review, including regulators and the NHS, towards delivering the recommendations for the wider system.
Lord John Mann is clear that NHS employers must take responsibility for tackling anti-Jewish racism and other forms of racism urgently. The government will support this work by
- Holding Trusts accountable through the publication of a new NHS Staff Standard focused on tackling racism, setting minimum expectations for how organisations must prevent, respond to, and learn from incidents of racism.
- Mandatory anti-racism training, specifically including antisemitism, for the chairs and chief executives of all NHS provider trusts within six months.
- Updating mandatory training on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights — accessed by 1.5 million staff — to include quality-assured content on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility.
- NHS England adopting the seven anti-racism principles of the NHS Race and Health Observatory and encouraging all NHS organisations to do so.
- Clear national guidance on uniform and NHS-issued equipment to ensure patients can access care with confidence, free from any perception of bias and on how Trusts should respond to racist behaviour from the public.
- Setting out a single set of national guidance for employers, clearly defining employers’ responsibilities in tackling discrimination incidents and providing guidance and examples of the types of incidents that may require a regulatory referral
This work must be supported and reinforced at all levels of the healthcare regulatory systems. The Department of Health and Social Care will work with health regulators, including the CQC, GMC and NMC, to agree a consistent approach to definitions of racism. Lord John Mann’s first set of recommendations, focused on reform of the General Medical Council, were published and accepted for consultation in March.
Taken together, these clear and pragmatic recommendations will better protect both staff and patients, strengthen accountability for senior NHS leadership, address persistent inequalities in the NHS, and drive a culture of safety and continuous improvement in the health service.
Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, said
We accept all of the recommendations in Lord Mann’s review and as a leadership community, we will act swiftly to implement them. The NHS at its best is a place of compassion, care and unity – not conflict – and there is unacceptable antisemitism and racism in the NHS, faced by both our staff and our patients and we must root this out.
Karen Newman, Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said
We are grateful to Lord Mann for this review and welcome the changes he is calling for, as well as the government’s commitment to implement them.
The Board of Deputies has long been making the case for many of the measures included in this report, including on training, staff accountability, uniform guidance, recording of Jewish ethnicity, and empowerment of Jewish staff networks.
We will continue to press government, NHS leaders and regulators to implement these changes swiftly.
Our public services must set the standard for confronting anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination, and we must ensure the NHS, one of our proudest national institutions, is safe and welcoming for every staff member or service user, regardless of faith or ethnicity.
The Jewish Medical Association UK Chair said
The Jewish Medical Association welcomes Lord Mann’s report and recommendations, including the thoughtful approach for embedding cultural awareness throughout the NHS and for ensuring accountability for protection from discrimination, which will be of benefit to Jewish patients and staff as well as those of other minority groups.
These reforms come alongside wider government action to combat antisemitism throughout society. In April, the government provided the Hatzola ambulance service with a cash grant to replace ambulances destroyed in an arson attack on the service.
It builds on our recent £25 million emergency funding in 2026-27 to provide immediate protection for Jewish communities. By making this longer-term commitment, police forces will be able to deliver more high-visibility patrols and stronger local engagement in areas with significant Jewish populations, including around synagogues and schools.
Last month, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced an additional £1 million to expand their Common Ground Programme to support communities at risk of antisemitism as well as £500,000 for Barnet council following their ask for government support after the horrific terrorist attack in Golders Green. The Department for Education (DfE) is also investing £7 million to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.
These investments sit alongside the government’s Protecting What Matters action plan to strengthen communities, bring people together, and take on extremists and religious hatred – as well as commitments announced ahead of the Prime Minister’s recent summit on combatting antisemitism in all corners of society.
The government will report back to Parliament on progress against Lord Mann’s recommendations, with an initial update by October 2026 and a full report within 12 months of publication.
