UK Physios

Fascinating that the only people who felt they had the agency to present an alternative view was young, white, male physios.

Judging from his social media, he was duly chastised, for his tweets and for a podcast he did about the issue.

Meanwhile the magazine a few months ago featured a physio who is clearly male but uses she/her pronouns and talks a lot about gender neutral toilets. And this was seen as progress. What is going on??

Interesting bringmelaughter. I feel the same as you & don't feel able to tweet what seem to me rational & moderate views

There's talk about "fully" and "medically" transitioned on that thread but I wonder if the tweeters know that the majority don't go down the surgery route?

Physio here. I think it all kicked off with this tweet:
twitter.com/nhsleader/status/1511607254507737088?s=21&t=J4jG6bGKodJ9PWpHS2S4QQ

I spent quite a bit of time constructing a tweet highlighting that this is complicated and needs us all to consider how we manage the complexity of competing needs for vulnerable groups.

I also wanted to say that labelling people is in itself not kind and also leads to bad outcomes for everything. The irony of a physio in a position of power calling for kindness then shooting people down and stopping discussion by labelling people transphobic doesn’t seem recognised.

Lastly if I’m stopped from posting by nerves about giving a gentle alternative view and what it may mean professionally then that shows how unhealthy this is.

Fascinating that the only people who felt they had the agency to present an alternative view was young, white, male physios.

Elaine is or certainly was a mumsnetter, that's where I first "met" her.

I had physio on the tendon that attaches my hamstring to my pelvis (basically my lower buttock).
I chose a female physio.
I wouldn't have wanted this physio from a man/transwoman.

I am not a physio but I follow Elaine Miller @gussiegrips on Twitter. She is a wonderful voice on these issues, very well informed and cares deeply about women's health.

I can't get link to work properly (is this something to do with MN update?) but highly recommend everyone watch Elaine's speech from the Alloa Women's Festival, it will make you laugh, and also cry, but is full of very serious content.

Elaine Miller, Gusset Grippers, Alloa Women's Festival - YouTube

@Watermelon44 the discussion was on Twitter rather than iCSP.

Can’t find it on icsp.

which section/group is it under?

@northender There was a Trans Day of Visibility event hosted by CN Lester and I’m guessing not all the participants toed the party line. Cue lots of female physios declaring on Twitter that TWAW and belong in women’s spaces and the one (male) physio who questioned this being told that he needed “educating” and that he was a bigot etc.

But tbh if a trans physio wants to set up a service just for trans people then good for them.

Just catching up on this & wondering if I missed something on twitter. Last week there was a tweet from a physio re setting up an NHS physio service for trans people as they said they couldn't rely on colleagues to be sympathetic or understanding.

I agree, @RadFizz.

We need to find other members who have concerns, but, like you, @Calyx72, the ones I've spoken to have worries about speaking up.

Which says something about diversity of opinion at the EDI.

What needs to be done is attend AGMS, get on the board of these professional organisations. I don't know about CSP but often very few people turn up to these things or apply for these positions which is how they have been able to be captured in the first place. Online meetings often don't help as question are moderated (censored).

@Calyx72 I honestly think management there haven't got a clue and are blindly following bad advice. There is a minority of very vocal pro-trans members but I suspect the silent majority will just walk away.

*The thing that interests me is that Karen Middleton is not an idiot. I think her background was at the Dept of Health? She's got to be aware of the organisations leaving Stonewall and the trouble at universities.

I've been so tempted to just email her the Nolan Podcast and ask whether she thinks SW is good value for the money.*

Rather late to this but @Calyx72 or @vivariumvivariumsvivaria did either of you contact the CEO to ask her about this? The organisation's entire management team and council look to be completely captured by this, judging by their Twitter presence.

This trans care course launched on the 28th, is free, and has been part written by a physio - who's been qualified for 6 months and seems to be involved in the LGBTQIA+ group.

I haven't done the course yet. I'm waiting til I'm in the right mood.

Curious that this is written entirely by students and newly qualified HCPs. Apart from two Inclusion People who seem to be supervising the whole thing. I'm fascinated that there isn't input from an endocrinologist, psychiatrist, gender clinic - bet there's not anyone on the list of "educators" with much clinical experience.

FFS. This is all worse than I thought. www.futurelearn.com/courses/transgender-in-healthcare/1/steps/1120017

Only diversity of rainbow and inclusion of glitter, too, by the look of it.

AFAIK there are other issues which fall under EDI remit...

Been looking at the CSP site about inclusion.

There's an article called "How to be an ally" by the LGBTQIA+ network which recommends that we follow Travis Alabanza for their "musings on gender, art and life"

Not their musings on girls trying on clothes in Top Shop, then?

Yes, this is what seems to be happening. All the laws set up to protect women are conveniently ignorable just as soon as some male finds they don't suit him.

It is in principle, @DomesticatedZombie, but not in practice.

I've had a long, ongoing debate about this with senior management. I am determined to keep patient toilets single sex because of safeguarding, trauma informed care and the needs of our female patients who have faith based needs.

It's taken up rather a lot of my time, considering there is no basis in law for the change that my rainbow clad colleague is keen on...

whether my work loo is only for females or not. this is covered already by H&S and building regs. As I understand it.

there was a decent article by Gordon Dangerfield ... it was encouraging. He's a Scottish solicitor. On another thread somewhere ...