The NHS trust I work for issues us with name badges with our full names on but nearly everyone I know has put tape over their surname. It is quite common for nursing staff to be 'stalked' on Facebook etc by ex-patients so blanking out our surnames has become an unfortunate necessity.
That strikes me as a potentially serious issue, at least for the professionally registered medical, nursing and AHP staff. In order for you to be accountable for your actions, you have to make your identity known to patients, and I would argue that an ID badge is an important way of doing so.
The NMC certainly views an identity badge as a part of the uniform, and whilst I can't see any similar statements on a quick glance of the GMC guidance, I know that identifying yourself by name is an important part of the GMC requirements as well. All doctors, registered nurses and midwives in the UK must be registered with the appropriate professional regulator in order to practice. And anyone can check the registration status of any doctor and nurse on the GMC and NMC websites. Deliberately hiding your name so that patients can't identify you in one of these circumstances could be considered a serious probity issue.
It is very different to a supermarket environment, where the staff member generally need only be identified internally within the store.
The GMC & NMC guidance on the use of social media should be followed and should protect you from inappropriate contact with patients on social media.
