By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-14 02:00:34 | Updated at 2026-09-14 04:50:35
2 hours ago
NHS staff have been urged to avoid words including "normal", "assessment" and "discharge" under new language guidance drawn up following a two-year study.
Sussex Health and Care said patients could find traditional clinical terminology uncomfortable or feel as though they were being judged.
Instead of "assessment", staff and volunteers are encouraged to use "health and wellbeing discussion", while "discharge" could be replaced with "warm handover".
The taxpayer-funded guidance also advises against describing people without disabilities as "normal".
Other terms discouraged include "able-bodied", "stroke victim" and "hard to reach".
The recommendations were compiled following a two-year study involving workshops and focus groups examining how language used by healthcare professionals affects patients.
Those behind the guidance warned that some commonly used terminology could be "uncomfortable, offensive, triggering, or discriminating".
Staff are also encouraged to challenge language used by colleagues if they believe it is inappropriate.
Sussex Health and Care said patients could find traditional clinical terminology uncomfortable or feel as though they were being judged
GETTY
The guidance states: "Language has power.
"It can help a person to feel understood, and validate their experiences, or could make them feel alienated and potentially cause harm.
"Feedback was that the word ‘assessment’ can feel like a test you can pass or fail, or that you are being judged.
"The word ‘discharge’ can feel very final - like the door is being closed on you. ‘If I need help again, how do I get back in?’"
Staff are also encouraged to challenge language used by colleagues if they believe it is inappropriate
Mental health workers are also advised against describing patients who repeatedly miss appointments or do not respond to correspondence as "hard to reach" or "difficult to engage".
The guidance discourages describing patients themselves as "difficult", suggesting terms including "underrepresented" or "under-served" instead.
The recommendations have sparked criticism from free-speech campaigners.
Lord Young, leader of the Free Speech Union, told The Sun: "I can see the argument for not using a technical term like ‘myocardial infarction’ instead of heart attack, but ‘patient’?
'Surely, everyone understands the word ‘patient’, including people who’ve just arrived in this country,' Lord Young declared
"Surely, everyone understands the word ‘patient’, including people who’ve just arrived in this country.
"It feels like Sussex Health Care is prioritising the needs of non-English speakers over those of native speakers, which is a little unfair given that it’s UK citizens who fund the NHS through their taxes."
The row follows another NHS language controversy earlier this year, when medical staff at a Lancashire trust were told to avoid everyday English expressions including "it's raining cats and dogs" and "the early bird catches the worm".
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued the guidance as part of its diversity and inclusion training, warning that common idioms "may not translate well across other cultures".
Staff were told such phrases could require explanation when communicating with international colleagues or patients.
GB News has approached Sussex Health and Care for comment.
