Children’s hospital investigating claims 9 year-old boy treated poorly by staff ‘because he is Jewish’

A children’s hospital is investigating allegations its staff treated a child poorly because he was Jewish.

A man who said he is the 9 year-old patient’s uncle raised concerns about his treatment at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in a post on business networking site LinkedIn.

The uncle claims his nephew was made to lie on the floor when he wore his kippah cap but received “quick care” on another occasion when he was not “visibly Jewish”. It is not clear whether the person who posted was present when the alleged incidents occurred, and the boy’s parents have yet to comment.

“The last time he went in, my visibly Jewish 9 year-old nephew with an autoimmune blood disease was kicked out of his bay by one of the nurses who was covered in Pro-Palestine badges and stickers, and due to that, had to lie on the floor with a cannula [IV] in,” the uncle claimed.

“Now the damage is done and my proudly Jewish nephew (and his parents) is scared to not get treatment if he wears his kippah and tzitzit. Coincidentally, today when not visibly Jewish, he received quick care. Also worth noting, prior to the conflict he received excellent care.

“Is this the world we will live in? Is it 1940 again?” he added.

The trust has received a letter from the Jewish Representative Council asking for it to investigate the matter and has asked it to clarify its stance on wearing “political statements” on uniforms. The claims have not been verified by the trust but it has stressed it is looking into them urgently.

In a statement, Manchester University Hospital Foundation Trust said: “We are aware of images and very serious claims which are circulating on social media.

“We are rapidly investigating these to establish the situation and are discussing them with the family involved. Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is committed to providing high-quality care to all of our patients.”