UK official Therese Coffey receives flak for advising doctors not to use Oxford comma

British government official Therese Coffey has been criticized for advising doctors not to use the Oxford comma. An angry reaction followed Therese Coffey's advice to medical practitioners to stop using the Oxford comma. Therese Coffey reportedly told staff members of the Department of Health and Social Care not to use an Oxford comma.

The Health Secretary joined the office earlier this month and is rumored to have instructed workers to let them know her preferred working practices. In addition to this, the instructions included a caution to be happy.

Therese Coffey's Instructions Criticized

On Thursday, the advice to avoid using the Oxford comma was circulated through an email. The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is a punctuation mark before the last item in a list. As per reports, this decision by the Health Secretary has been condemned by some medical professionals as insensitive.

Employees are asked to be positive

Employees were instructed to be positive and avoid double negatives.

One official called the email "very patronizing," and another claimed the advice on using Oxford commas would be perceived as "highly patronizing" by the workforce.
When they start working in a new department, newly appointed ministers frequently instruct their workers.

Jacob Rees-Mogg's Style Guide

When he was named Commons Leader in July 2019, Jacob Rees-Mogg made history by providing his staff with a "style guide" for communication.

Additionally, Mr. Rees' instructions offered advice on how to communicate with and engage with MPs and a list of words and phrases to avoid using. His guidelines demanded that a double space follow all full stops, that Mogg's organizations be regarded as singular, and that, whenever necessary, imperial measures be utilized.

Staff workers were instructed not to use the Oxford comma after the word "and" after lists.

Some Department of Health and Social Care employees are alleged to have been angered by the "prescriptive" tone of the email issued by Ms. Coffey's office.

FAQs

Who is Therese Coffey?
Therese Anne Coffey is the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the UK.