Woke health chiefs at Sussex Health and Care have banned several traditional medical terms to make patients feel less intimidated or alienated. The trust has prohibited words like "patients," recommending alternatives such as "experts by experience" or "consumers." They also discourage the use of "normal," suggesting it could alienate disabled individuals, and advise replacing "discharge" with "warm handover." This two-year investigation resulted in a 26-page handbook that includes guidelines on avoiding terms like "assessment" and "able-bodied," which might be uncomfortable for anxious patients. Critics argue these changes prioritize non-English speakers and may lead to unfair treatment of medical staff unfamiliar with the new terminology.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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Leaning score withheld for article 9049: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-14
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Woke health chiefs at Sussex Health and Care have banned the word 'patients' – amid concerns it is inappropriate and makes people feel intimidated.
asserted
people → see → concerns
Doctors and nurses working for the trust will have to instead refer to patients as 'experts by experience,' 'customers' or 'consumers'.
asserted
Doctors → work → experience
Bosses also struck a red line through the term 'normal', suggesting it could alienate patients, arguing it should be replaced with 'non-disabled person.
uncertain
it → strike → person
'
Clinicians should also avoid terms like 'assessment', 'able-bodied' and 'discharged', to avoid scaring anxious patients.
asserted
Clinicians → avoid → patients
Instead – following a two-year taxpayer-funded investigation – chiefs have landed on the term 'warm handover'.
asserted
chiefs → follow → term
Experts behind the investigation argued these terms, which have been used for decades among medical professionals, could be 'uncomfortable, offensive or triggering'.
uncertain
which → argue → professionals
The review goes on to say paid staff should be aware of their colleagues' language in the workplace, and 'challenge' them if they hear inappropriate language being used.
asserted
language → go → them
In the 26-page handbook, the product of a series of groups and workshops, bosses wrote: 'Language has power.
asserted
Language → write → power
It can help a person to feel understood, and validate their experiences, or could make them feel alienated and potentially cause harm.'
uncertain
them → help → harm
Feedback highlighted that the term 'assessment' can make patients feel like they are being judged on their ability to pass a hidden test, while the word 'discharge' can feel very final.
asserted
discharge → highlight → test
Woke health chiefs at Sussex Health & Care have banned the word 'normal' - amid concerns it makes patients feel alienated
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patients → ban → concerns
Elsewhere in the 'guide to language for mental health' report, contributors complained about the world 'normal' as they disliked the 'label' and potential stigma attached to a formal diagnosis - or there lack of.
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they → complain → diagnosis
The guide continued that staff treating those with mental health issues should no longer describe patients who fail to turn up to appointments as 'hard to reach' or 'difficult to engage'.
asserted
who → continue → appointments
Instead they should be called 'under-represented' or 'under-served.'
asserted
they → call → ?
The trust have also banned the term 'people with autism', favouring 'autistic people' or 'people on the autism spectrum,' because autistic people dislike person-first language.
asserted
people → ban → language
Meanwhile, people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder prefer to be called a person with ADHD.
asserted
people → prefer → ADHD
A number of critics have hit out against the new guidelines, claiming the trust is prioritising non-English speakers.
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trust → hit → speakers
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?"'
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I → tell → patient
He added that the 'constantly changing modern dialect' adopted by the NHS is putting increasing numbers of medical staff at risk of unfair punishment for 'not being fluent in woke-ish'.
asserted
dialect → add → ish
'The result is that more and more NHS employees, particularly older employees, are finding themselves under investigation for being culturally insensitive.'
When approached by The Mail, a spokesperson from the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: 'This is a guide, not Trust policy.
'
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This → find → Trust
It was developed with people who use mental health services and staff to respond to feedback that certain language discouraged some from accessing NHS support.
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language → develop → support
It comes just months after doctors and nurses at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation trust were told to stop using traditional sayings such as 'the early bird catches the worm' – because they may not translate well across other cultures.
uncertain
they → come → cultures
Meanwhile, earlier this year, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London said the pronouns 'xey/xem' can be used by staff at work.
asserted
pronouns → say → work
The trust also urged staff to apologise if they used the 'wrong' pronouns for colleagues, stressing the move was a great way 'to create an inclusive environment and demonstrate inclusion in the workplace'.
asserted
move → urge → workplace
In 2024, the NHS again came under fire for publishing a menopause policy which suggested: 'Not everyone who experiences menopause is a woman'.
uncertain
who → come → menopause
Women's rights groups were quick to anger, arguing that the 'outrageous' document risks causing confusion, accusing the NHS of promoting an 'activist agenda'.
asserted
document → anger → agenda
Campaigners also criticised the use of woke ‘non-sex language’ such as ‘people affected by the menopause’, rather than ‘women’.
asserted
Campaigners → criticise → menopause
It comes after successive health secretaries have told the NHS to stop erasing women from its publications and to use sex-based language on its health advice pages, including those on women-specific cancers.
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secretaries → come → cancers
NHS England published the ‘National Menopause People Policy Framework’ on its website but later removed it, claiming it had been issued in error when contacted by the Daily Mail.
asserted
it → publish → Mail
