Online Policy
Creating safe and respectful spaces online
We want everyone who interacts with us — on our website or social media — to feel safe, heard and respected.
This page sets out how we manage comments and discussions, what we expect from users, and how we handle questions, feedback and moderation across our digital channels.
Please take a moment to read these guidelines before joining in.
When you engage with us
We welcome questions, feedback and conversation across our platforms — including this website, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook.
To help everyone have a good experience, we ask that you:
- Stay on topic
- Be respectful
- Keep it constructive
- Follow our community standards below
Use of our platforms is also subject to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Our approach to comments
We believe in open discussion — but we also take care to moderate content responsibly.
- Do we moderate comments? Yes. We pre-moderate most comments to protect users and uphold community standards. This means comments may not appear immediately.
- How long does moderation take? We aim to publish comments within 24–48 hours. It may take longer during busy times or if we need to check a comment before responding.
- Will we censor or reject views? We don’t suppress reasoned debate — but we may decide not to publish comments that are off-topic, inappropriate, or go against our community standards. If your comment isn’t approved, we’ll try to explain why and may invite you to edit and resubmit.
- Can comments be removed? Yes. We reserve the right to remove or suspend comments at any time — especially if they’re older than six months or breach our policy.
- How do we respond? We aim to read and respond to all comments. Please note that views shared by others don’t necessarily reflect our own. For official queries, contact us directly.
- Age guidance. If you’re aged 16 or under, please get a parent or guardian’s permission before commenting or sharing personal information.
Community standards
We encourage thoughtful and respectful discussion. But we will not publish — and may remove — comments that:
- Include offensive or abusive language
- Attack individuals or organisations in a personal or malicious way
- Contain spam or repeated messages
- Are overly long (please keep comments under 500 words)
- Incite hatred or discrimination of any kind
- Use inappropriate or explicit language
- Reveal private information (including names, contact details, or social handles)
- Impersonate others
- Are party-political (general political issues are welcome if relevant)
- Break the law — e.g. copyright, libel, or inciting illegal acts
- Contain advertising or commercial promotion not clearly relevant
- Are written in languages other than English (we’re currently unable to moderate these)
- Promote or glamorise harmful health behaviours
- Offer or request personal medical advice
- Reference specific medical products in inappropriate contexts
- Are financially motivated or incentivised
- Are legally sensitive — e.g. relating to court proceedings, threats, or clinical negligence claims
Social media guidelines
We use our digital channels to share useful information, connect with our community and encourage discussion.
- Our posts may include:
- Links to our own content — including apps, blogs, videos and news
- Links to trusted external sources — such as NHS guidance, academic research, or partner organisations
- Interesting facts, quotes or updates that relate to our work
- Topical questions or discussion prompts
- Retweets and shares. We may retweet or share content from others — but this doesn’t mean we endorse the views or organisations behind it.
- Following others. We follow accounts we find relevant, informative or inspiring — but following isn’t an endorsement.
- Replies and direct messages. We aim to check and respond to mentions and messages during normal working hours, and sometimes outside those times too. For anything urgent, please contact us.
If something feels wrong
If you see a comment on our website or social media that concerns you — or if you feel we’ve fallen short — please let us know.
We will take your concerns seriously and investigate as soon as we can.