Friday 22 June 2007

Witch Hunt of the Day

A surgeon has been suspended over claims that he said a white colleague who returned from holiday with a suntan looked like a "jungle bunny".

John Riddington Young, 58, was sent home on full pay pending a disciplinary investigation into the alleged "racist" incident.

A nurse is understood to have complained about the consultant's comments during his daily rounds at the North Devon Hospital in Barnstaple.

He has, however, been allowed to return to work, on the condition that he be supervised at all times, pending an investigation.

I have to say, that I have never before heard the expression "jungle bunny". Apparently it is considered offensive by some Americans, but I am not aware that it has the same connotations in the UK. And what kind of hospital suspends and harasses a surgeon, presumably delaying the treatment of patients into the bargain, simply because he used a term which some people might consider offensive?

2 comments:

bernard said...

That's funny FR, when I was at skool, jungle bunny was common parlance, which means this surgeon was of the old fashioned sort.
Mind you, when class mates came back from the summer hols with an ostentatious suntan it meant they could afford to go abroad and were greeted with "hi there, shit-face".

ba ba said...

Oh my step dad says jungle bunny all the time.