Doctors and other NHS staff have taken to not wearing badges and uniforms in public to avoid systematic abuse from a “small but sinister” tide of the public, professional leaders say today.

Several leading medical and health organisations joined in a plea to the public to support the profession – having clapped staff last year – to prevent “hate and abuse by this small, aggressive minority.” The plea is made in a joint letter signed by Academy of Medical Royal Colleges chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, British Medical Association chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul and Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists together with leaders of other health unions and professional organisations.

The letter, published in The Times, was prompted by a social media campaign of abuse against Royal College of Midwives chief executive Gill Walton for promoting vaccination for pregnant women. The abuse included death threats and follows threats at a London rally of “Nuremberg-style trials” for doctors and other professionals. This followed the harassment and crowding of chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty in a London park.

The letter says: “We will no longer tolerate the unacceptable behaviour of those who respond aggressively to polite requests to wear masks in our hospitals and GP practices or who stand outside hospitals shouting denials of the pandemic’s existence, and who use their platforms to incite violence against us. As health and care professionals, we have been moved by the support given to us by the public throughout the pandemic. However, a small but sinister tide has been rising of people who, at best, seek to undermine the important public health advice we give, and, at worst, incite abuse and violence against us. As individuals we have already taken personal action including not wearing uniforms or badges in public and reporting the worst abuse to the police.”

Professor Stokes-Lampard said: “For the least eighteen months everyone in healthcare has shown what incredible things can be achieved if we pull together. We now need to be more united than ever and show our solidarity by calling out the aggressive and unreasonable behaviour of a small minority.”