{"id":29871,"date":"2025-04-18T09:35:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T09:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/29871\/"},"modified":"2025-04-18T09:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T09:35:08","slug":"fears-fake-nhs-uniforms-plugged-on-tiktok-could-be-used-to-impersonate-hospital-staff-news-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/29871\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears fake NHS uniforms plugged on TikTok ‘could be used to impersonate hospital staff’ | News UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"
\n\t\tTikTok creator and NHS worker Shannon Adey advertises what she calls an \u2018NHS fleece\u2019 on social media (Picture: @shannonalicia\/TikTok)<\/p>\n

A healthcare assistant has defended selling fake NHS uniforms on Tiktok to top up her income despite claims they put lives at risk.<\/p>\n

Shannon Adey, 28, sells fleeces for between \u00a316 and \u00a328, giving buyers the option to put a hospital name, their own name and job title.<\/p>\n

But they have been branded \u2018dangerous\u2019 by commenters responding to a health<\/a> care assistant promoting them on TikTok for a commission.<\/p>\n

Sold for between \u00a316 to \u00a328, buyers can put a hospital name, their own name, and job title on items like a dark blue fleece or hoodie emblazoned with a rainbow, almost identical to official ones.<\/p>\n

\u2018I wanted to order one through work<\/a>, but there was a backlog on it, so I just thought it\u2019d be quicker\u2019, Shannon, who is from the West Midlands<\/a>, told Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve been waiting for a name badge since August, so I don\u2019t actually know how long a jacket would have taken.\u2019<\/p>\n

Then she started advertising the \u2018NHS fleece\u2019 on TikTok, which she uses to generate a second income for her and her kids. At the time of writing, those videos were still online. One has more than 1million views.<\/p>\n

Shannon admitted there could be a risk the \u2018NHS fleeces\u2019 advertised online could be used to impersonate medical staff.<\/p>\n

\u2018But I can\u2019t help that if people are already doing it\u2019, she told Metro<\/strong>. \u2018I just putting it for positive reasons. No matter what you promote, there\u2019s always going to be someone that has a bad way of using it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Fears
\n\t\tA fleece sold by K.C.T Embroidery bears the name of an NHS hospital trust<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Fears
\n\t\tOther retailers only supply direct to the NHS and organisations contracted to deliver health services<\/p>\n

Numerous retailers sell \u2018Embroidered NHS Fleece Jackets\u2019, \u2018NHS Personalist Garment\u2019 or \u2018Personalised Hospital Fleece Jacket\u2019 on platforms like TikTok, Amazon and eBay. Scrubs are readily available online.<\/p>\n

Some suppliers label these as \u2018only available for sale to NHS\/Healthcare Organisations\u2019 \u2013 with delivery to an NHS address and payment from an NHS organisation.<\/p>\n

But this is not true for the \u2018NHS Rainbow Fleece\u2019 sold through the shop she promotes, which has sold more than 2,000. Anyone can buy them.<\/p>\n

\u2018This advert is really really dangerous\u2019, one person said. \u2018Anyone can use this to mislead innocent people.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another said: \u2018Imagine someone gets it with bad intentions to pretend they\u2019re someone in that place. The world is scary enough.\u2019<\/p>\n

Those fears are not pure fantasy.<\/p>\n

Last year, a woman posing as a doctor injected a patient with an unknown substance<\/a> at Ealing Hospital in west London.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Fears
\n\t\tNumerous online shops sell clothes mimicking those worn by NHS staff<\/p>\n

Kreuena Zdrafkova, who arrived wearing a white coat, stethoscope, medical gloves and a yellow badge, said she was \u2018living out her dream of becoming a doctor. She pleaded guilty to common assault.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a 13-year-old boy was arrested for impersonating a doctor<\/a> \u2013 equipped with scrubs and an ID \u2013 at Plymouth\u2019s Derriford Hospital. Police let him off with a warning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just doctors being impersonated.<\/p>\n

Andrew Vincent posed as a paramedic to con his way into the London Ambulance Service headquarters where he tried to steal confidential documents in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the hands of someone intending to masquerade as a member of the ambulance service\u2019, the prosecutor said. \u2018That would assist them and in that situation there is always the danger of harm to others.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Andrew
\n\t\tAndrew Vincent was caught driving a fake ambulance in 2010, years before he posed as a paramedic to enter London Ambulance Service headquarters<\/p>\n

Caught after staff recognised him as someone known to have a \u2018dangerous obsession\u2019 with ambulances, he admitted fraud and was handed community service and a restraining order.<\/p>\n

Impersonating a doctor constitutes fraud as well as its own specific offence, punishable with a fine.<\/p>\n

K.C.T. Embroidery said: \u2018I do not sell any garments that includes the NHS logo, so I am not exactly sure who is concerned and why.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have lots of customers requesting the NHS logo on their jackets, and these orders are all rejected.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Fears
\n\t\tShannon has posted several videos promoting the fleeces (Picture: @shannonalicia\/TikTok)<\/p>\n

They added: \u2018There is absolutely no intention in mimicking NHS uniforms.\u2019<\/p>\n

The fleece used to advertise their products on their shop bears the name of Wirral University Teaching Hospital.<\/p>\n

The NHS does not have a centralised system for supplying uniforms. Instead individual NHS trusts buy them from various suppliers. The Secretary of State for Health owns the trademark for the \u2018NHS\u2019 name and logo.<\/p>\n

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told Metro<\/strong>: \u2018The NHS logo and the letters \u2018NHS\u2019 are registered UK trade marks, owned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in England, who also owns the logo\u2019s copyright. They may not be used or adapted without the Department of Health and Social Care\u2019s authorisation.<\/p>\n

\u2018We strictly control the NHS Identity and take unauthorised use of the NHS name very seriously. We take action if necessary, against cases of potential misuse that are brought to our attention. However, we cannot comment on the details of individual cases.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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