Page 2 | Women’s rights to same-sex health care

IwantToRetire · 2026-08-17T18:26:55+00:00

*^In an era of patient-centred care and growing concern over misconduct in medical settings, why do women still lack the right to choose women consultants for examination and treatment?^* ^Equality legislation has resulted in significant improvements in the workplace for women, both in terms of pay and career paths albeit with some way still to go. It is startling, however, just how primitive our society remains in respect of the treatment of women in other areas of their lives. This article addresses one of these areas – medical care, specifically the right for women to elect examinations and care by women medical practitioners.^ Full article [[https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/women-s-rights-to-same-sex-health-care https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/women-s-rights-to-same-sex-health-care]] (^The author wishes to acknowledge the contribution of his late wife and his daughter whose thoughts and experience gave rise to this article.^) Came across this by chance in Counsel Magazine: Founded in 1985,^ ^COUNSEL^ ^is^ the ^official monthly Magazine of the Bar of England and Wales, published by LexisNexis on behalf of the Bar Council. COUNSEL is largely written by and for barristers. [[https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/about-us https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/about-us]]

MrsOvertonsWindow · 18/08/2026 08:19

There's one reason why so many women don't end up as surgeons:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66775015

And there's another reason why so many women patients would prefer single sex care :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy85lz5ppdo

The latter is just one horrendous example of what happens to some women and children in the NHS. Until the NHS starts weeding out all the predators they manage to appoint, many women will view medial care with concern about keeping themselves safe.

The demands that women STFU about wanting single sex care is one of the reasons predators flourish unchallenged in the NHS.

Female surgeons sexually assaulted while operating

Trainees are being abused by senior male surgeons, a major analysis given to the BBC reveals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66775015

PriOn1 · 18/08/2026 08:11

Hoardasurass · 18/08/2026 06:38

I've seen it in multiple papers though i can't remember which.
From memory male surgeons are more likely to cause harm to and/or kill women and children on the operating table than they do to men.
Female surgeons are less likely to cause harm or death to any patient on the operating table, with the best outcome for Female and child patients.
There's been questions about why this is and the most common reasons being put forward are medical misogyny, more risk taking by male Dr's and female Dr's having smaller hands.
I suspect that its a combination of all of them and other as yet undefined causes but nobody has chased up or studied why this happens so we may never know.
Regardless of the reason if you or anyone you know male or female needs surgery try to get a female surgeon especially if your female or a child.

Show quote history

I would have thought that a likely contributor to this is that men have been at the top of this and are in charge of hiring. It’s probably more difficult to become a surgeon, if you’re female, so those who do make it are more likely to be very dedicated to getting there and probably have to be better, just to get that place.

Dragonasaurus · 18/08/2026 07:58

This would be a really interesting area to study. Off the top of my head, I wondered whether women feel safer with other women, and patients feeling safer would likely lead to better recovery - on top of the potential for medical misogyny

RedTagAlan · 18/08/2026 07:37

Hoardasurass · 18/08/2026 07:18

I agree however the result of that would be to ban all men from ever being surgeons and thats never going to happen, so the best we can do is push for more women to become surgeons (its still a male dominated field) and give women the right to have female surgeons

Show quote history

It appears it is not so clear cut as the author of the subject article makes out when he says " ...several studies have found that patients undergoing surgery by female surgeons experience better outcomes than those operated on by men."

Do women make safer surgeons? | The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (rcseng.ac.uk)

To cherry pick from that : "A cohort study published in the British Medical Journal in 2022 found no differences in rates of patient death or complications between male and female surgeons in Japan despite the fact that female surgeons were more likely than male surgeons to be assigned high-risk patients"

The article I linked has lots in it. Technical skills V communication etc. And there is no definitive overall finding. Likely because it is an area that has not had equality. So realty, it looks like one of those things that needs equality before conclusive studies can be done.

Anyway, this is what I mean when I say it was an odd thing to tag onto an article. It is an unsubstantiated claim stated as fact. Yes, there is info to back up the claim, but no definitive info.

Hoardasurass · 18/08/2026 07:18

RedTagAlan · 18/08/2026 07:07

If that is the case then. I would have thought there would be a full on push to have female surgeons. Surely that should be above having same sex examinations. Not to say the latter is not important, but in terms of weight applied.

Show quote history

I agree however the result of that would be to ban all men from ever being surgeons and thats never going to happen, so the best we can do is push for more women to become surgeons (its still a male dominated field) and give women the right to have female surgeons

RedTagAlan · 18/08/2026 07:07

Hoardasurass · 18/08/2026 06:38

I've seen it in multiple papers though i can't remember which.
From memory male surgeons are more likely to cause harm to and/or kill women and children on the operating table than they do to men.
Female surgeons are less likely to cause harm or death to any patient on the operating table, with the best outcome for Female and child patients.
There's been questions about why this is and the most common reasons being put forward are medical misogyny, more risk taking by male Dr's and female Dr's having smaller hands.
I suspect that its a combination of all of them and other as yet undefined causes but nobody has chased up or studied why this happens so we may never know.
Regardless of the reason if you or anyone you know male or female needs surgery try to get a female surgeon especially if your female or a child.

Show quote history

If that is the case then. I would have thought there would be a full on push to have female surgeons. Surely that should be above having same sex examinations. Not to say the latter is not important, but in terms of weight applied.

Hoardasurass · 18/08/2026 06:38

RedTagAlan · 18/08/2026 04:03

Just an observation on the above article. It has this tagged on at the bottom:

"This is not (just) an employment rights issue. It is a matter of responding to unmet demand from many women for same-sex medical care. It may also be a question of improving standards; several studies have found that patients undergoing surgery by female surgeons experience better outcomes than those operated on by men."

No citation given for that claim. No Reference, just a claim.

I am not refuting the claim. I honestly have no idea. It is not something I have ever thought about or recall seeing in the news. But for me, tagging another different potential issue onto the one being discussed, just seems off. It is something that conspiracists do. I am not suggesting that the author is a conspiracist here at all. It's just an observation.

It's an excellent article. But if I was to start fact checking the information in it, that is where I would start.

I've seen it in multiple papers though i can't remember which.
From memory male surgeons are more likely to cause harm to and/or kill women and children on the operating table than they do to men.
Female surgeons are less likely to cause harm or death to any patient on the operating table, with the best outcome for Female and child patients.
There's been questions about why this is and the most common reasons being put forward are medical misogyny, more risk taking by male Dr's and female Dr's having smaller hands.
I suspect that its a combination of all of them and other as yet undefined causes but nobody has chased up or studied why this happens so we may never know.
Regardless of the reason if you or anyone you know male or female needs surgery try to get a female surgeon especially if your female or a child.

RedTagAlan · 18/08/2026 04:03

Just an observation on the above article. It has this tagged on at the bottom:

"This is not (just) an employment rights issue. It is a matter of responding to unmet demand from many women for same-sex medical care. It may also be a question of improving standards; several studies have found that patients undergoing surgery by female surgeons experience better outcomes than those operated on by men."

No citation given for that claim. No Reference, just a claim.

I am not refuting the claim. I honestly have no idea. It is not something I have ever thought about or recall seeing in the news. But for me, tagging another different potential issue onto the one being discussed, just seems off. It is something that conspiracists do. I am not suggesting that the author is a conspiracist here at all. It's just an observation.

It's an excellent article. But if I was to start fact checking the information in it, that is where I would start.