This week in “Your government is completely out of touch with reality”…
This is what our new health secretary is prioritising. Not waiting lists, not ambulance times, not staff shortages – the Oxford comma.
Therese Coffey has told workers in the Department of Health and Social Care to stop using the Oxford comma in their communications, it has been claimed.
The Health Secretary reportedly issued guidance to staff to advise them on her working preferences after she was appointed to the role earlier this month.
The instructions, which the Financial Times said had been emailed to staff and published on the department’s intranet, also told workers to “be positive”.
The ban on the Oxford comma – a punctuation mark that some people place before the last item on a list – has sparked a backlash, with some health workers viewing the instruction as “patronising”.
The email to staff was sent last Thursday and also advised workers to steer clear of using “jargon”. The guidance was reportedly given the title of “new secretary of state ways of working preferences”.
The Financial Times said that the guidance had been sent to workers in Ms Coffey’s department but it had also been forwarded to staff at the UK Health Security Agency.
‘Extremely patronising’
The guidance advised workers to “be positive – if we have done something good, let us say so and avoid double negatives”.
One official described the email as “super patronising” while another said the instruction on the use of Oxford commas would be seen by staff as “extremely patronising”.
It is not unprecedented for newly appointed ministers to issue guidance to their staff when they arrive at a new department.
Jacob Rees-Mogg famously issued his staff with a “style guide” for writing correspondence when he was appointed to the role of Commons Leader in July 2019.
Mr Rees-Mogg’s instructions included a list of banned words and phrases as well as guidance on how to address MPs and constituents.
His rules had specified that organisations were to be treated as singular, that there should be a double space after all full stops and imperial measurements should be used whenever necessary.
His “style guide” also included a ban on the Oxford comma, as staff were told there should be no comma before the word “and” at the end of a list.
The email sent by Ms Coffey’s office is said to have annoyed some Department of Health and Social Care staff because of its “prescriptive” nature.
One official said: “Although there is usually some guidance, it’s not so prescriptive.”
Arguments surrounding the use of the serial comma aside,
> a double space after all full stops
should be a dismissible offence.
Actually she ordered people to stop going into Oxford Comas.
The region’s hospital facilities are at capacity.
Ah sorry, so this list offends you rather than actually focusing on the NHS?
If it hadn’t been given such a silly name as “the Oxford comma” and was simply recognized as the proper use of punctuation that it is, nobody would object to it.
See this is why you Brit’s need to bring back the stocks. What’s the Uk coming too, when people can use Oxford commas with such casualness.
Whenever a minister issues guidance like this when it comes to communication with themselves you know they are incompetent.
It means they care more for nanomanaging and making sure things fit their world view than actual results and real work.
Many ministers do this and they always end up being the ministers that either do nothing; put the worst policies in place or instruct the civil service to ignore legal obligations
In the immortal words of Vampire Weekend: “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?”
I would, however, like some clarity on her perception of the veracity of Lil Jon…
I’m gonna have to wait for David Mitchell’s take on this. He’s my life coach on grumpy, trivial matters and his word is law.
Seems completely unnecessary.
Does she not realise NHS England already has a very detailed style guide prioritising simplicity and end-user comprehension?
Feels like she’s just doing this to swing her dick around as the new boss.
If we’re taking *any* advice from a morbidly-obese chain smoker, probably preferable it was on punctuation and not health
I never knew what an Oxford comma was before Vampire Weekend.
Inspector Morse always used to go on about the Oxford comma,
Also in there… moggy dog asking for all measurements to be in imperial. So converting from a measurement system that makes complete sense to one that is just complete rubbish?
I wonder where the governments questionnaire on swapping to imperial came from.
Typical Tory, takes an important leadership position and uses it to be wrong about trivalities.
I hear Hitler hated Oxford commas. So did Bernie Madoff.
So this is the opinion of Thesese Coffey, a fascist and a crook.
I work for the NHS. It’s disappointing that the Health Minister should be focusing on the Oxford comma when use of the possessive “greengrocer’s” apostrophe within colleagues’ written correspondence should be her first priority.
She does look like she prefers short sentences. Too much context upsets her breathing
This should soothe the worries of people waiting for ambulances with only basic first aid training and a call handler telling them what to do.
She also told NHS workers to “be positive”. Presumably whilst their services are crumbling around them.
Fucking stupid bitch, how’s that for positivity?!
This is probably all she’s going to accomplish as Health Secretary.
Nicked from another post.
Therese Coffey should stick to the things she loves – cigars, fingering herself and her dog.
But the totally-unplanned Dr Dre episode made her seem so footloose and fancy free!
I’m very glad she’s telling the NHS to be positive as well. I can loads of benefits to that
>Dear *patient’s name*,
>
>We regret to inform you of your terminal illness due from your cancer diagnosis. Had the backlog for treatment not been as long we might have caught it in time, but on a positive note, you’ll soon won’t have to make National Insurance contributions!
Here is Therese Coffey, an idiot and a clown.
Yeah, that works.
Transphobic PoS and the rest of the Tories
I just want to have good care and live in peace but no apparently according to her and the Tory party I’m a problem
But an Oxford Comma can save millions* when used correctly, or cost millions if missing.
> A dairy company in the US city of Portland, Maine settled a court case for $5m earlier this year because of a missing comma.
*Money, not people
Say what you like about the tories, they’re tackling the important issues that people really care about.
Just want to point out that this person is our health secretary. She looks like she’s about to burst.
Fucking hell. What’s she gonna do if people don’t stop using them? Understaff their departments, put unrealistic expectations on them, pay poverty wages?
Oh…
Fuck off Therese, and take all your Tory bastard mates with you.
Therese Coffey can fuck off, fuck the hell off, and fuck right the fuck off.
Personally, I’ve always found the Oxford comma odd. But after hearing this, I’m going to make sure to constantly teach all my students how to use the Oxford comma. Patronising cow.
34 comments
This week in “Your government is completely out of touch with reality”…
This is what our new health secretary is prioritising. Not waiting lists, not ambulance times, not staff shortages – the Oxford comma.
Therese Coffey has told workers in the Department of Health and Social Care to stop using the Oxford comma in their communications, it has been claimed.
The Health Secretary reportedly issued guidance to staff to advise them on her working preferences after she was appointed to the role earlier this month.
The instructions, which the Financial Times said had been emailed to staff and published on the department’s intranet, also told workers to “be positive”.
The ban on the Oxford comma – a punctuation mark that some people place before the last item on a list – has sparked a backlash, with some health workers viewing the instruction as “patronising”.
The email to staff was sent last Thursday and also advised workers to steer clear of using “jargon”. The guidance was reportedly given the title of “new secretary of state ways of working preferences”.
The Financial Times said that the guidance had been sent to workers in Ms Coffey’s department but it had also been forwarded to staff at the UK Health Security Agency.
‘Extremely patronising’
The guidance advised workers to “be positive – if we have done something good, let us say so and avoid double negatives”.
One official described the email as “super patronising” while another said the instruction on the use of Oxford commas would be seen by staff as “extremely patronising”.
It is not unprecedented for newly appointed ministers to issue guidance to their staff when they arrive at a new department.
Jacob Rees-Mogg famously issued his staff with a “style guide” for writing correspondence when he was appointed to the role of Commons Leader in July 2019.
Mr Rees-Mogg’s instructions included a list of banned words and phrases as well as guidance on how to address MPs and constituents.
His rules had specified that organisations were to be treated as singular, that there should be a double space after all full stops and imperial measurements should be used whenever necessary.
His “style guide” also included a ban on the Oxford comma, as staff were told there should be no comma before the word “and” at the end of a list.
The email sent by Ms Coffey’s office is said to have annoyed some Department of Health and Social Care staff because of its “prescriptive” nature.
One official said: “Although there is usually some guidance, it’s not so prescriptive.”
Arguments surrounding the use of the serial comma aside,
> a double space after all full stops
should be a dismissible offence.
Actually she ordered people to stop going into Oxford Comas.
The region’s hospital facilities are at capacity.
Ah sorry, so this list offends you rather than actually focusing on the NHS?
– Increase NHS staff count,
– Reduce waiting times,
– Invest in IT,
Bets on how long she will last?
10/4 – 3 months max
If it hadn’t been given such a silly name as “the Oxford comma” and was simply recognized as the proper use of punctuation that it is, nobody would object to it.
See this is why you Brit’s need to bring back the stocks. What’s the Uk coming too, when people can use Oxford commas with such casualness.
Whenever a minister issues guidance like this when it comes to communication with themselves you know they are incompetent.
It means they care more for nanomanaging and making sure things fit their world view than actual results and real work.
Many ministers do this and they always end up being the ministers that either do nothing; put the worst policies in place or instruct the civil service to ignore legal obligations
In the immortal words of Vampire Weekend: “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?”
I would, however, like some clarity on her perception of the veracity of Lil Jon…
I’m gonna have to wait for David Mitchell’s take on this. He’s my life coach on grumpy, trivial matters and his word is law.
Seems completely unnecessary.
Does she not realise NHS England already has a very detailed style guide prioritising simplicity and end-user comprehension?
https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content
Feels like she’s just doing this to swing her dick around as the new boss.
If we’re taking *any* advice from a morbidly-obese chain smoker, probably preferable it was on punctuation and not health
I never knew what an Oxford comma was before Vampire Weekend.
Inspector Morse always used to go on about the Oxford comma,
Also in there… moggy dog asking for all measurements to be in imperial. So converting from a measurement system that makes complete sense to one that is just complete rubbish?
I wonder where the governments questionnaire on swapping to imperial came from.
Typical Tory, takes an important leadership position and uses it to be wrong about trivalities.
I hear Hitler hated Oxford commas. So did Bernie Madoff.
So this is the opinion of Thesese Coffey, a fascist and a crook.
I work for the NHS. It’s disappointing that the Health Minister should be focusing on the Oxford comma when use of the possessive “greengrocer’s” apostrophe within colleagues’ written correspondence should be her first priority.
She does look like she prefers short sentences. Too much context upsets her breathing
This should soothe the worries of people waiting for ambulances with only basic first aid training and a call handler telling them what to do.
She also told NHS workers to “be positive”. Presumably whilst their services are crumbling around them.
Fucking stupid bitch, how’s that for positivity?!
This is probably all she’s going to accomplish as Health Secretary.
Nicked from another post.
Therese Coffey should stick to the things she loves – cigars, fingering herself and her dog.
But the totally-unplanned Dr Dre episode made her seem so footloose and fancy free!
I’m very glad she’s telling the NHS to be positive as well. I can loads of benefits to that
>Dear *patient’s name*,
>
>We regret to inform you of your terminal illness due from your cancer diagnosis. Had the backlog for treatment not been as long we might have caught it in time, but on a positive note, you’ll soon won’t have to make National Insurance contributions!
Here is Therese Coffey, an idiot and a clown.
Yeah, that works.
Transphobic PoS and the rest of the Tories
I just want to have good care and live in peace but no apparently according to her and the Tory party I’m a problem
But an Oxford Comma can save millions* when used correctly, or cost millions if missing.
[Heres a prime example](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180723-the-commas-that-cost-companies-millions)
> A dairy company in the US city of Portland, Maine settled a court case for $5m earlier this year because of a missing comma.
*Money, not people
Say what you like about the tories, they’re tackling the important issues that people really care about.
Just want to point out that this person is our health secretary. She looks like she’s about to burst.
Fucking hell. What’s she gonna do if people don’t stop using them? Understaff their departments, put unrealistic expectations on them, pay poverty wages?
Oh…
Fuck off Therese, and take all your Tory bastard mates with you.
Therese Coffey can fuck off, fuck the hell off, and fuck right the fuck off.
Personally, I’ve always found the Oxford comma odd. But after hearing this, I’m going to make sure to constantly teach all my students how to use the Oxford comma. Patronising cow.