Hospital bosses in Britain were meeting on Friday to discuss a controversial move to ban Bibles from patients’ bedsides after they were decreed not only insensitive to other religions but also a health risk.
Gideons International, the organisation that distributes the Christian holy book to hospitals, as well as hotels, prisons and other places, has condemned the mooted move by hospitals in Leicester, central England, as “outrageous”.
The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which runs the three main hospitals in the ethnically diverse city, said it is considering removing Bibles from bedside lockers because they might offend patients of other religions.
Additionally, it said, it is concerned the books could increase the risk of spreading the highly antibiotic-resistant infection MRSA in wards if they become contaminated with body fluids.
Iain Mair, executive director of Gideons International United Kingdom, dismissed the infection fear as “nonsense”, saying the organisation has commissioned its own medical reports, which have found no potential risk.
“They also say it’s discriminating against people of other faiths. It’s outrageous — political correctness gone mad,” Mair said.
“We will put notes in the lockers which will say that, if a patient wants a book of another faith, these are the people they should contact.”
In a statement, the health trust confirmed it is holding discussions “to determine whether religious texts will continue to be provided in patients’ bedside lockers” at its three hospitals”.
“However, discussions are still in the early stages, meaning no proposals have yet been put forward by staff and no final decision has yet been made on this issue,” it added. — AFP