Thérèse Coffey, who was appointed by Prime Minister Liz Truss this month, issued the instructions to hundreds of health workers in an email last Thursday. Staff were also told to avoid using “Oxford commas” — referring to the questionable punctuation that precedes the last item on a written list. Experts said the guidance — titled ‘Preferences of the new secretary of state’ — had been published on the Department of Health and Social Care’s intranet. An email, seen by the Financial Times, shows that Coffey’s guidance was also forwarded to staff at the UK Health Service. The rubric has angered health workers, many of whom were on the front lines during the Covid pandemic and who now face real pay cuts and added pressures as infection rates are expected to rise in the winter. Coffey’s office asked employees to “be accurate” and “be positive — if we’ve done something good, let’s say it and avoid double negatives.” The email was “overly patronizing . . . It makes you wonder if you’re in the right place when a new minister comes in with that,” a person with knowledge of the mood told UKHSA. “The idea that we have to frame issues positively shows a person who doesn’t want to deal with problems, so that’s not encouraging,” they added. Another senior public health official said they understood staff would see the reference to the Oxford parties, in particular, as “extremely supportive”. However, they added, the agency had a way of communicating that was “incredibly difficult to understand and I can imagine the style of the house drove Thérèse Coffey to the ceiling”. Health officials said it was not unusual for ministerial teams to set working arrangements for staff when new ministers were appointed. “While there is usually some guidance, it’s not that prescriptive,” said one person with knowledge of the mood among employees. The email has caused particular frustration among some staff at UKHSA, which was born out of Public Health England last year and has been the lead agency responsible for dealing with outbreaks including Covid-19, monkeypox and polio. UKHSA workers said they were “out of control” after the government earlier this year made significant job cuts to temporary staff involved in controlling the outbreak during the pandemic. The UKHSA has been warned internally that job cuts – up to 70 per cent in some departments – could severely hamper its response to outbreaks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. UKHSA staff were this year offered a one-off payment of £350 in ‘recognition of outstanding efforts . . . over the past two years,” according to documents seen by the FT. Some permanent health service staff have been offered a 2.5 per cent pay rise to help manage the rising cost of living, it has been reported. “We’re actually taking a pay cut,” said an employee with knowledge of the plans. Inflation in the UK is expected to hover around low double digits this autumn. “After everything we’ve done to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, including extensive overtime, including public holidays, we’re getting pay rises that are well below current inflation rates,” the person added. The UKHSA said: “We greatly appreciate all our hard-working colleagues who work tirelessly to make our nation’s health safe.”
