Is this English NHS advert sexist?

Posters designed to recruit nurses into the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust were released without the consent of those pictured in the adverts and published.

Both images featured female nurses in hospitals, one read: “As soon as Emma looked at John she knew it was serious. A full fracture of the tibia.”

A second advert also with a young nurse pictured read: “Before lunch, Izzy made Roy’s heart flutter. It’d stopped for ten minutes.”

Many were quick to react to the post due to the flirtatious tone of the meassing with a hashtag even created of Twitter to highlight the alledgedly sexist tone.

One Twitter user wrote: ‘Seriously? Where are they hoping they’ll work? The 1970s?’

Another added: ‘So disappointed they opted for crass ads instead of highlighting the importance of nurses.’

Some have been quick to defend the advert however stating that they have gained significant attention and are engaging.

Many have hit out at the advert campaign from Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust. Picture; NHS

Author Peter Lloyd defended the ads saying: “Contrary to the hysteria, these adverts are actually quite engaging and effective – if people read the copy in its entirety.”

A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Strawberry Design Agency, which helped to create the campaign, said: ‘The award-winning Remarkable People campaign has been extremely successful in helping us to recruit professionals of all disciplines.

“The visual printed in the HSJ had been presented to our trust as one format among a number of campaign options.

“We rejected it immediately and it has never been used as part of the campaign.”