Posted on September 8, 2011

‘The Usual Rubbish About Equal Opportunities’: NHS Job Advert Pulled from Website After Blunder

Daily Mail (London), September 6, 2011

It’s probably what a great many think about advertisements for public sector jobs.

But the words ‘the usual rubbish about equal opportunities’ were clearly not supposed to be published.

A Liverpool hospital trust has begun an inquiry after the phrase was accidentally published on its website.

The advert by the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust invited applications for a trainee anaesthetist.

But the familiar provision about equal opportunities that usually appears at the bottom of such adverts was replaced by the rather embarrassing ‘usual rubbish’ phrase.

The blunder prompted a flurry of comments on Twitter about the importance of proof-reading and some called the mistake ‘hilarious’.

The advertisement has since been updated to remove the statement.

It is believed to have been spotted by a doctor who saw it when he was looking to apply for the position.

The advert, published last Thursday, was for a one-year post as a fellow in anaesthesia, working alongside consultants at the two Liverpool hospitals.

A trust spokesman said no one had been identified in connection with the mistake yet and confirmed the advert had been uploaded internally.

The spokesman said: ‘The wording on this advert in no way reflects the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust’s position in relation to equal opportunities, to which it is fully committed.

‘The trust is conscious of its duty to promote equality. The trust will be conducting an investigation into this incident to ensure that this cannot happen again.’