“Genuinely” single sex wards are not the best standard of care for all and in particular, trans and non-binary service users - survey

Christ, that poor person has a lot of serious issues!

It's a highly partisan and entirely self-serving survey, isn't it? Sort of "This is what we believe and want, we've asked our cohort and they feel the same, therefore, it's for the best."

There's no attempt at balance, or speaking to the wider population.

Post on Reddit. A young, highly vulnerable FTM trans person who doesn't want to be on a male ward or a female ward. The all male ward is scary and threatening and the female one invalidating, I guess. Apparently there are lots of "AFAB trans" people in the mental health system.

A woman was raped on a female ward. By a transwoman. Wards should be for the sex of the person, not the feelings of the person. Medically, sex matters. But also, women aka females need to be protected from potential sexual abuse. Fact.

OK I've read the report. Based as it is on 3 policies from 2 NHS Trusts (both in London), and eighteen service users.

I think it's an interesting area for research. I certainly read some of the comments by service users and was nodding - I used to work for a mental health Trust and some of the issues are really familiar.

I think there are a couple of handy points in there. I may roll my eyes slightly at the idea that a transman would consider pink safety clothes unsupportive of their gender as their colour meant they were 'clearly meant for women', but in fact there might be good reason to choose less socially gendered colours.

An awful lot of it though... my blood ran cold. Obviously the report didn't state the sex of the contributors (what an idea!) so i don't know whether the comment about 'more mixed sex wards please' was from a man or a woman. But the idea of the vulnerable young transmen I know being sectioned on a mixed sex ward makes me terrified for them. It also rather contradicts the report's summary implying that single-sex wards are a strange new idea in mental health trusts - of course they bloody aren't. Single versus mixed accommodation in mental health facilities has been a live debate since at least the 70s because of the intense vulnerability of women in this situation versus those who think that 'normal socialisation' is important.

I also can't help translating some of the comments from users. No they weren't going to do a complex castration and penectomy surgery requiring extensive postoperative self care on you while you were admitted to a psychiatric ward because you were a danger to yourself, don't be so bloody silly.

And agender (i.e. most!) women. Plus all the other 100+ genders. We have never had or aimed for single gender anything FFS. This ideology is a clear attempt to transgress women's boundaries.

Glad to have HCPs standing up and explaining this stuff, FannyCann, thank you.

And Davros, I'm sorry to hear about your OH.

For clarification - this was an outpatient investigation - nothing to do with single sex wards or annexe B.

Or suggest that trans is anything to do with mental health. That would be unacceptable.

Slightly off topic but a recent experience gave me a sense of the extent of widespread lack of understanding of women's needs.

Last week a woman presented to my department to have a bladder investigation. The male Consultant announced he couldn't do a female catheterisation (necessary for the investigation) so there was a scurry around to find someone to do the catheterisation. Apparently I was the only person in the department who could do it.

So I went down, met the lady, and with a female junior who scrupulously locked doors, sited the catheter so that the Consultant could then do the procedure.

Afterwards a male technician expressed surprise that the Consultant couldn't do a catheterisation. I pointed out that he undoubtedly could but presumably respected that a woman would probably prefer for the procedure to be done by a female. He gawped. I warmed to my theme. "I'm sure most women would prefer same sex care and want an intimate procedure to be done by another woman" I said. He gawped more and was utterly bemused "I'd never thought of that" he said!
I went on...."I've never catheterised a man. I wasn't taught to, as it was the norm that men were catheterised by men. Probably most men would prefer single sex care too". (I enjoyed repeating the words "SINGLE SEX").

You could almost see the cogs slowly revolving....

Well that was my bit for the cause last week. But it did make me think how much we have lost - the idea of single sex care is completely foreign to some health care workers.

I suspect that you're correct. But we mustn't pathologise them, apparently...

This is worrying. I thought it was the law since 2019 that NHS inpatient accommodation had to be single sex. I know it was eviscerated by Annexe B but this is presenting it like it’s a new thing.
DH is currently in a secure psychiatric ward. There are male and female patients there. The women's rooms are at one end of the ward and the men are not allowed to go there. The TV room and dining room are towards the men's end of the ward and the women can go there, presumably because they are not considered a potential threat. I haven't seen any geezers in babydoll nightie and fluffy Pom Pom mule slippers but I wonder what end they'd be given a bed?

Third spaces should meet everyone's needs. But they don't because they don't validate males who don't give a shiny shit about the mental health of women who they impose themselves on.

Is the percentage of trans and non binary people higher in mental health services than general population? Perhaps not such a tiny minority in these settings.

I would prefer Buck Angel than Monty though!

Nope. I wouldn't want a trans man (thinking Buck Angel) on a ward with my mother.

But absolutely no-one male.

Absolutely!

Set out how gender-affirming care and physical health needs of trans patients in mental health inpatient settings will be met

It is very far from established that gender-affirming care meets the mental health needs of trans patients. Surely that is the first step? To establish what actually is good mental health care for this population? For example we know that men who transition (and therefore “gender affirmed”) are more than nine times more likely to commit suicide. Why is lying to patients about their sex considered good for their mental health?

I don't care which wards they are on provided they are on wards that correspond to their sex.

I don't actually give a toss what wards trans or non binary people are on - as long as they are nowhere near myself, my daughter and most expecially my mother (and any other female who wants a single sex ward).

When are we going to stop pandering to these idiots?

And this is why research that focuses only on one, very particular demographic group is stupid in evaluating service that by necessarily need to serve the whole population.

There are unavoidable conflicts between the needs of different groups and decisions need to be made. Designing for tiny numbers of trans and non binary people at the expense of millions of people, including many women and girls who would be unable to access services at all because they’re not single sex, is stupid. They are a small group who will need to be accommodated via side rooms if they won’t go on the appropriate single sex wards.

insisting on affirmative care based on these types of research is also ridiculous. Decisions about care like that should be based in proper, medical evidence. Not user research.

“Set our how female patients will be used to validate men’s feelings, regardless of the needs of those female patients”

I'd love to know what is going on with risk assessments in health care settings.

They used to be holistic and take into account the positions of all service users. Now it's fuck women so long as the men with special identities are get what they want.