“We suspect this incident has been deliberately played down"
It has been reported that staff at West Middlesex University Hospital cut a 91-year-old Sikh man’s beard without consent.
On December 21, 2024, the BBC reported the news and said the family were “devastated”.
According to the Sikh Federation (UK), the BBC report downplayed the situation as the family had said “absolutely no” to cutting the hair and the granddaughter said if her grandfather could react he would be “furious”.
It had also mentioned that the incident happened at a hospital in West London.
In a statement, the hospital said: “We are deeply sorry and are taking this matter very seriously, this was a genuine mistake and are now working closely to support the patient’s family.”
The BBC added that the hospital could not be named “due to safety concerns”.
Granddaughter Keisha Sethi spoke about the incident and shared it on TikTok, leading to speculation about where it happened.
@fitnesswithkeisha Whilst im also writing a complaint to PALS, its important i share this! Im truly heartbroken that this was my grandads experience whilst going through what hes going through at 90! It was communicated from us NOT to cut his hair! This isnt what i regularly post but i have to raise awareness around this because we are overlooked as ethnic minorities too much! ? #nhs #pals #sikhism #ethnicminorities #hospitals #nhspals #complaint #fyp ? original sound – Keisha | PCOS COACH??
Many thought it might be The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust where a similar incident took place in 2021 during Covid.
Dabinderjit Singh OBE, the Sikh Federation Lead Executive for Political Engagement, said:
“We suspect this incident has been deliberately played down by the hospital.
“The reason the BBC gave for why the hospital could not be named was odd. The BBC has been irresponsible to promote speculation.
“It was important to end the speculation and identify the hospital concerned to take up the matter at higher levels and ensure steps are taken to prevent similar incidents.”
The Sikh Federation (UK) initially contacted Patricia Wright, the Chief Executive at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust.
In an email to the Sikh Federation (UK), she said:
“I can confirm that this incident did not happen at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust and that we implemented enhanced guidance for staff following the incident at the Trust in 2021.”
After contacting other hospitals in West London, Lesley Watts, the Chief Executive Officer for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that the incident happened at West Middlesex University Hospital.
He emailed the Sikh Federation (UK):
“We are deeply sorry for what happened and are taking this matter very seriously.
“This was a genuine mistake for which we have apologised directly to the patient and their family.
“We have been working with the patient’s family to take learnings from this, and to ensure something of this nature does not happen again.
“We have also reached out to our local community temple Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Hounslow to bring this matter to their attention, as we are aware this has been in the media.
“Finally, for clarity, we have always been transparent about this incident taking place at West Middlesex University Hospital.”
A subsequent letter to Mr Watts questioned why Sikh chaplains at the hospital had not received information about the incident.
After information was provided to the chaplains by a practising Sikh doctor involved with West Middlesex University Hospital, it was suggested that it may not be the first case of a Sikh patient’s hair being cut without consent at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Legally, the forcible cutting of hair counts as actual bodily harm (ABH).
The maximum possible ABH sentence is five years imprisonment, uplifted to seven years for racially or religiously aggravated ABH.
The Sikh Federation (UK) stated:
“We fail to understand how this can be put down to a ‘genuine mistake’ for which an apology is sufficient, given the clear instructions given by the family not to cut the 91-year-old’s hair when asked.
“We have strongly suggested the hospital should report this serious incident to the police without delay who should investigate to establish the facts and if a crime has been committed with the forcible cutting of hair.
“As a minimum, we would expect there to be disciplinary action as there appear to be no reasons linked to emergency care that would justify the deliberate physical assault on the 91-year-old.”
Dabinderjit Singh added:
“The response from the Chief Executive where he states they ‘have always been transparent about this incident taking place at West Middlesex University Hospital’ calls into serious question the competency and reporting by the BBC.
“We have written to the Chief Executive to explain why we believe the police should be asked to investigate why the 91-year-old man’s hair was forcibly cut that amounts to assault.
“We hope to meet Wes Streeting in the New Year and with his help get the government to introduce a Statutory Code of Practice on Sikh articles of faith to try and prevent similar incidents of assault that amount to much more than discrimination.”
The incident comes shortly after an image of a Sikh man was used for the NHS’s quit smoking campaign.
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