NHS England: ‘Women should not have to share wards with men’

Patients should be accommodated according to their biological sex and not their gender identity, new guidance from NHS England has stated.

The health service’s previous code of practice allowed ‘transgender’ and ‘non-binary’ patients to choose for themselves whether they stayed on a male or female-only ward.

But now, to comply with the UK Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman is determined by biology not ideology under the Equality Act, all NHS healthcare settings in England must provide services on the basis of biological sex.

Women only

The updated guidance sets out “how NHS organisations should ensure privacy, dignity and safety for all patients in hospital accommodation”, in line with last year’s judgment, and the organisation’s own pledge to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation.

Operational breaches, such as women having to share wards or toilet facilities with men, must now be reported nationally. The NHS also requires providers to ensure that “all patients, relatives and carers who should be aware of the guidance are aware of it”.

In order to maintain hospital accommodation as single-sex, the guidance makes clear that “trans people and others with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment should be accommodated in line with their biological sex”. And while gender-confused patients “should be offered single-bed rooms on the basis of maintaining privacy, dignity and safety for all patients”, the guidance states: “No patients have a legal right to be accommodated in single rooms”.

Separate guidance on staff facilities advises NHS organisations to “ensure compliance with their legal duties” by reviewing and updating “existing policies relating to the use of staff facilities (for example, changing, washing and showering areas, toilets, and staff accommodation) or develop guidance if it does not exist”.

‘Back to reality’

Maya Forstater, Chief Executive of women’s rights charity Sex Matters, hailed the changes as “a momentous shift back to reality”.

She added: “After a decade of policies based on self-ID and the influence of transactivist campaigners, many NHS trusts have embedded a culture of gender ideology that has pushed staff to treat a claimed transgender identity as if it is a person’s sex.

“NHS England must now follow up with a clear directive to reverse trans ideology within trusts and consider the publication of scenarios or case studies that will empower all staff to speak honestly, and enable regional leadership to stand up to transactivist bullies.”