5 UK Sikh doctors ‘removed’ for refusing to shave beards

Five orthodox Sikh doctors working in the NHS were temporarily removed from frontline duty after refusing to shave their beard to fit into protective masks, it has emerged.
Dr Sukhdev Singh, chairman of the Sikh Doctors Association, said the doctors had approached him after being removed from frontline roles because their hospitals did not have adequate powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs).The enclosed perspex hoods, which cover the turban and beard, can be worn instead of FFP3 or N95 masks in intensive care and high dependency units.
He said the problem had arisen because NHS trusts had procured equipment “blindly” without assessing the needs of their Jewish, Muslim and Sikh staff. There are an estimated 200 orthodox Sikh doctors working in the NHS. “Half the hospital trusts only have 10P PAPRs in the whole trust,” Singh said.
One of the doctors, a Sikh consultant anaesthetist aged 40 working at a hospital in the Midlands, “was given a choice to either shave his beard or be taken off his role into a secondary role,” Singh said, as he could not fit into the FF93 mask, which has to have a full seal between the skin and the mask. “So he stuck to his religious convictions and was taken out of the operating theatre and asked to come off his on-call rota,” Singh said. “His consultant colleagues had to take over his duties during a stressful pandemic, which caused tensions between them. After a few days, he contacted me in distress. His trust should have done everything possible to secure the right PPE for him. He did get the right mask a week later but you should not have to choose between wearing a mask and shaving your beard,” Singh said.
The PAPRs, which are reusable, come from Germany and the USA and cost £1,000, while the FFP3 or N95 masks cost £5 to £10. Another doctor to contact him was a consultant paediatrician who had been moved off frontline duty in the Midlands, as well as three Sikh doctors in London. All five doctors have now, thanks to the intervention of the Sikh Doctors Association, got the correct masks and returned to the frontline.
Singh, together with the Sikh Council UK, wrote on April 3 to Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, asking for hospitals to provide the appropriate level of PPE to Sikh staff. The letter said: “no Sikh healthcare professional should be forced to choose between breaking their faith or breaking their frontline NHS role to help patients,” pointing out that it would be in breach of the Equality Act 2010. “Many Sikhs working in the NHS have expressed their strong desire to continue using their skills and experience working alongside their colleagues in the NHS during this critical time. It is unfair to ask them to choose between their faith and their vocation when alternative solutions are available. For Sikhs, their duty of care is intrinsically linked with their faith.”
On April 29, Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, wrote back promising: “reasonable adjustments should be made in this area.”
British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin president Ramesh Mehta told TOI that it was correct they were removed from the frontline if they did not have the correct PPE but he said: “They need to order appropriate masks to respect religious beliefs, regardless of cost. You can’t force Sikhs or Muslims to shave off their beards.”
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP added: “Why wasn't suitable PPE provided? No one should be made to feel guilty and distressed, having to choose between their faith or their profession.”