NHS update on recording patient sex and gender identity

Let's imagine a patient being called through with left lower abdo pain. In which patients would you consider testicular torsion? In which patients would you consider an ectopic pregnancy? Or a GP rings renal medicine about a patient with possible renal failure - should you be using the male normal range of valies, or the female?

Every single patient, age and sex is the first vital information.

The Sullivan Review recommends ending this practice:

7. The NHS should cease the practice of issuing new NHS numbers and changed ‘gender’ markers to individuals, as this means that data on sex is lost, thereby putting individuals at risk regarding clinical care, screening, and safeguarding, as well as making vital research following up individuals who have been through a gender transition across the life course impossible. In the case of children, this practice poses a particularly serious safeguarding risk, and should be suspended as a matter of urgency.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-data-statistics-and-research-on-sex-and-gender/review-of-data-statistics-and-research-on-sex-and-gender-executive-summary

The wit! The cogent, convincing arguments!

Where will the information about the patient's sex be recorded then? You agree that it is important in some clinical contexts, so where will the clinician get the information from?

This seems to replace the actual argument with a more extreme one that’s easier to object to. 🤔

I never suggested any patient should be denied correct treatment . The question is whether administrative systems should routinely record and share a person’s birth sex irrespective of privacy, purpose, necessity or consent.

The idea that the privilege of someone not knowing my birth sex is even in the same universe as my right to receive correct treatment... You obviously don't realise how offensive this is.

Someone upthread wrote that they deal with problems daily from people who realise they're trans. First off, I'm sorry, that's dreadful. Secondly, these people can't all be health care professionals who only know about a trans status from medical records. It seems trans status, in some instances, is only a secret from the Doctors, nurses and similar who need the information to keep the transperson healthy. Thirdly, I suspect computer systems in the NHS log who is looking at what. If a member of staff is accessing or disseminating a patient's personal information without reason they will be disciplined, possibly sacked.

Which requires accurate recording and disclosure of sex.

Bolding and underlining text does not make safeguarding go away, or the need for sex to recorded accurately.

Its not up to the individual to opt out in any situation they see fit.

Just a reminder Alice Sullivan hangs out with sex offenders.

Someone can disagree with you without being manipulative or lying. I’ve been clear, respectful and focused on the substantive point throughout.
I suggest you reflect on your approach to this discussion. Have a lovely evening.

Recognising a privacy concern does not mean arguing against safe or effective healthcare for trans people.

Wanting clinically relevant information to be available to healthcare professionals does not imply that every piece of sensitive information should be collected and accessible without considering privacy implications.

The question is not whether clinicians should have access to information that is genuinely necessary for a person’s care. The question is whether making a particular piece of information mandatory for every patient is necessary, proportionate, and the potential consequences of that.

Patient safety and privacy are not opposing values. A good healthcare system has to protect both.

Yes. It's very revealing that finally saying NO to this tiny yet disproportionately powerful group generates so much hyperbole and drama. All because the NHS has finally been compelled to record accurate sex based data that safeguards everyone in the population.

Supposedly trans allies calling for the deliberately bad medical care, and potential death, of trans people, just because they are trans. That's... a take.

Patients come first not feminist identified transphobes feelings

😘👌

Fortunately trans people can get a new NHS number to change it back to the rightful identity. Sex does not matter and nor should it matter in NHS care. Patients come first not feminist identified transphobes feelings.

Also your tone is becoming distinctly disrespectful so I will leave it there. Have a lovely evening!

You clearly don't. The sex field was unpopulated for everyone. Only 'gender' was recorded. For most patients that was their sex, for trans patients it wasn't.

I can't understand what you are arguing about? It doesn't matter what words you want to use, the following is true :

for the vast majority of people birth sex is already recorded in their medical records.

There is no issue with clinicians not knowing what birth sex a person is in the vast majority of cases.

In my records my sex is recorded as female which is my birth sex and there is no issue.

I'm sure the same is true for yours.

There are a small number of trans patients who have changed the marker in their medical records so what is recorded in the medical records is different to their birth sex.

the rules will change this and make it mandatory for their birth sex to be recorded , which may have consequences for revealing their trans status and creating a new privacy concern for this specific group of people.

It's already been explained to you where it may not be relevant for people to have this information - for reception staff for example. Furthermore, are lots of clinical situations where birth sex is not directly relevant to clinical care.

The point is, the NHS has been busy collecting information that they know is corrupted.

When they analyse sex data, they have no idea how incorrect it is. At one point, the government was confidently claiming 9,000 maximum would change their details, then estimated it could be 2 million, even after the census, they dont have a clue.

All because a few men wanted to pretent that they were women.