NHS Policy Audit - working party -Thread #3

To clarify, PoG wasn't actually in the documents, just CBA to type out the whole list!

But basically every person with a speshul identity gets to choose and women have to stfu. This one really irritated me.

They use "People of Gender" because "Gendered People" is considered offensive cf. "Coloured People".😀

Thank you - "People of Gender" sounds like a term from a bad sci-fi story.

" People of Gender" .... really? I have no words.....

@FarriersGirl confirming Blackpool submitted. Didn't have any mention of single sex accommodation on the website, reasonably standard; when you get it, courtesy of @SeaStoat, it actually mentions that People of Gender get to have their preference. This is unusual and possibly why it's not on the website any more?

I have submitted Cheshire and Wirral Partnership.

Their website’s mental health section for children links out to a group called LevelUp.

One of the articles in their About Us section offers the tip from a fellow kid that if you feel like you don’t belong, maybe you’re trans.

"For as long as I can remember I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Growing up as an undiagnosed neurodiverse person in a neurotypical world created a whole array of issues for my developing mind, and just to complicate my identity further I knew that the body I was born into didn’t match the way I felt on the inside. Navigating the world as a trans kid with autism was inexplicably difficult, I struggled deeply to find the motivation for life that everyone else around me seemed to have so effortlessly."

https://www.levelupcm.nhs.uk/about-us/our-news/turning-trauma-change-childrens-mental-health-awareness-week-3-9-feb

Next on the list is Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. In theory this only treats women....!

What do they do when a TiM rocks up demanding to be treated?

That's great thank you. Next on the list is Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. In theory this only treats women....!

Fab - thank you!!

@TwoLoonsAndASprout Your query on the DM should be answered by the post above. If not let me know.

A nice bit of sex and gender confusion in Lancashire:

When considering mixed sex, it is important full individual consideration is given to the patients chosen identity or gender variant to ensure discrimination or adverse experiences are not encountered as a result of an individual’s chosen identity. The term gender is used throughout the document to refer to the patients chosen gender, not biological gender.

@FarriersGirl I have just submitted Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust so I'm ready for the next one 😀

I've submitted Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust but haven't been able to find anything of substance. There are no inpatient facilities so Single Sex Accommodation doesn't apply but there is no Ermine FOI for this one and the Cleo Madelaine one from 2021 did not share anything relevant.

No links to Stonewall or Rainbow Badge but accreditation from the Navajo LGBTQ+ Charter Mark Navajo – In-Trust: Merseyside

I've submitted North West Ambulance. Very little on website.

Womens Network
'The Womens network was launched in 2022 to provide a forum for female staff members, those who identify as females... help the organisation understand the female experience'

We supported the fifth National Ambulance LGBT+ Conference, which was held at Manchester Metropolitan University on 15 and 16 June 2023... considered how best the ambulance service can meet the needs of people with multiple protected characteristics, as well demystifying the LGBTTQQIAAP acronym.

Use of Single Sex Facilities
'Should other staff members have an objection to the above for any reason, they should discuss this with their manager. As well as listening to and addressing the concerns of the staff member, the discussion should include reference to the law advising that the trans employee can legally use a particular facility, the Trust values of care and compassion and the Trust vision of an inclusion workplace. Please also see ‘Harassment’ section below.'
'Refusal to use the new name and/or pronoun of the trans person or objections about sharing toilet facilities could be the start of behaviours leading to harassment.'

Policy on Transgender Staff
As part of this process they will decide the appropriate point when a form of dress and the use of single sex facilities will be adopted in accord with the new social gender. However, this change in social gender, whilst usually taking place during or after hormone therapy will sometimes occur years before the final surgical procedure. In some cases, there will be no final surgical procedure...
There will also be information available for staff, so they are aware of their responsibilities and how they can support colleagues undergoing gender transition.

I can take another Trust x

Yes, sorry - that should obviously be his and he instead of hers and she. Yikes.

Joanne Lockwood is very obviously a male transexual. He is another to add to the list of male transexuals whose whole identity & career is that they are "trans".

I see others are adding a bit more information about what they have found.

I didn’t find any real bombshells for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay - standard self-ID by stealth and conflation of sex and gender - but there were a few big sigh moments.

With all the budgetary constraints the NHS is facing, they hosted Joanne Lockwood on May 9, 2023 - https://x.com/UHMBT/status/1655863644993757184
One of her sites shows that at one time she was asking a rate of £3795 - £4500 for in person, £3295 - £4000 for a virtual event - https://raisethebar.co.uk/speaker/joanne-lockwood/#:~:text=Joanne%20Lockwood%20is%20the%20Founder,Inspiration%20%26%20Motivation%20Leadership%20Personal%20Development

At the end of last year, they launched pronouns on staff ID badges.
https://www.facebook.com/UHMBT/posts/we-want-to-support-our-colleagues-patients-the-public-to-feel-safe-to-express-th/595227972855420/

Comments fairly negative from staff, with the most negative apparently deleted.

One woman asked “So how does this work when patients request only female or male nurses/staff due to their spiritual or religious beliefs?”
Another commented “Telling people what pronouns to use is coercing their language. It is completely unnecessary.”

Rather than addressing legitimate concerns of their staff, whoever is running their Facebook responded, “We would like to remind everyone to act with kindness before leaving comments. We do not condone hateful language or bullying of any group of people - ever. Abusive comments will be removed.”

I’m assuming so-called abusive comments might have included people pointing out men aren’t women and lying about it could make a difference to patients and other staff.

Interestingly, this trust seems to have taken a mixed approach to erasing women in their vocabulary. For instance, they have separate pages on their perinatal pelvic health page for “women” and for “trans men, trans masculine and non-binary people (who were assigned female at birth)”. In the first document, they use the term “vagina,” while in the second they use “front hole.” https://www.uhmb.nhs.uk/maternity/perinatal-pelvic-health-service - look under Antenatal/During pregnancy.

@SeaStoat, do you have downloads of the results of your FOI of Cornwall Partnership?

I’ve read one (out of many, many, many dozens) that mentioned, under the PC of “religion,” that some people believe that sex is binary, with a footnote referencing Forstater. It had a mealy mouthed “and so you’ll need to keep that in mind” kind of sentence after that.

The impression I remember getting was that someone GC had flagged this as being necessary to include, but that the policy writers (copy and pasters) basically thought it was dismissable in the same way they seem to think religious beliefs are dismissable - the person can have those beliefs, sure, and it’s not nice to tell them they can’t have those beliefs, but a good, right-thinking person will not of course take those beliefs seriously.

I’ve only seen one that even hinted at a negative impact on anyone else (females and people with religious beliefs) but as it considered “gender (including transgender)” as one category (no sex category natch) it was hardly a good example.

mostly they seem to take an intersectional approach centering trans people, so write things like “trans people can be any age/sexuality/religion etc so this policy will be a good thing”

Thank you for this. In answer to your question I certainly haven't seen an EquIA that is remotely adequate. Most of them seem assume that having a policy is a good thing for all groups and completely miss the point.

I submitted University Hospitals Plymouth earlier today. It's much like other trusts: an extensive policy on single sex accommodation where every breach must be documented, but made completely meaningless by self-ID. And no mention how the self-ID policy relates to the breach and consent requirements described in the same document. The table for the equality impact assessment has been filled in, but with formulaic text. Evidence of form-filling, but not evidence that an actual assessment was done.

I'm curious whether anyone has seen a complete and well-considered EqIA in their research so far?

It was and I found it, thanks!

I’m finding MN almost unusable at the moment with ads not loading and pages freezing, so I haven’t been on here much, but I’m still working away slowly.

It was probably @GreenAllOver

I'm sure someone was looking for this document recently; if I remember who I'll direct them here.