'Working with Stonewall is no longer compatible with NHS values' | Comment | Health Service Journal

[ChristinaXYZ]

"Nurses speak of their distress at being instructed to insist to their female patients that there are no men present, in the clear presence of a man identifying as a woman. Who can they turn to when their employer, union and regulator are all Stonewall Champions?"

www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/working-with-stonewall-is-no-longer-compatible-with-nhs-values/7030259.article

via on twitter twitter.com/MerchedCymru

@TurquoiseBaubles

Has anyone else noticed the link on that page to an article about Susie Green from April 2019?

It's worth reading

Yes I was just reading that - Susie Green bigging up Mermaids and complaining about GPs and CAMHS. They can't have it both ways - claim gender dysphoria is not a mental health issue, then complain about this: "Many young people with gender dysphoria referred to CAMHS teams by their GPs are sent right back. “This is gender dysphoria, we don’t do gender dysphoria,” is often the message, says the Mermaids chief. This is strictly accurate - gender dysphoria is no longer classed as a mental health condition, but Ms Green says this is too often a convenient excuse for struggling CAMHS services to offload anxious, depressed and, sometimes, suicidal children."

www.hsj.co.uk/comment/the-bedpan-gps-are-scared--i-dont-blame-them/7024816.article

The comments underneath are the most interesting part, and a reminder that many women of FWR work in the health service :)

@FindTheTruth

"Stonewall’s divisive approach". Divisive was used by Simon Fanshawe on R4 TP this week too. Accurate word that, Divisive.

Yes, and Maya's judgement has hopefully reminded people of organisations' responsibilities under the equality act to foster good relations between people of different protected characteristics.

Really good article. Very clear in articulating dangerous policy.

"My concerns are three-fold. First, and most importantly, Stonewall’s influence is undermining our ability to keep our patients safe. Secondly, it stifles free speech and creates a culture of fear amongst some staff. Thirdly, it gives misleading and potentially unlawful advice, opening up NHS organisations to litigation and reputational damage.

bang

bang

bang

three shots on target

I know it was posted up thread but that pararaph is so damned good, I may have to mermorize it

Fabulous!

I see the men in the comments are turning out in force to protect the rights of those whom they preferred to be centred in All The Things.

I expect them to be joined by plenty of women who are also desperate to centre etc.

My workplace are now in Stonewall's pocket, too.

We work with many, many vulnerable people especially women and children.

This is a fantastic article.

Would anyone be too for some FOI requests to NHS trusts for:

• their policy on admitting trans patients
• any equality impact assessments they have carried out to understand the effect of their policies on people with other protected characteristics
• any guidance for staff around managing risk to vulnerable patients e.g. trans man on a mental health ward with male sex offenders; trans woman with a forensic history of assaulting women on a ward with vulnerable women

Are patients allowed to ask for another nurse / doctor or chaperone on the grounds that they feel uncomfortable with the one they were allocated regardless of the HCP's sex or gender?

@LeoOrTheo

Are patients allowed to ask for another nurse / doctor or chaperone on the grounds that they feel uncomfortable with the one they were allocated regardless of the HCP's sex or gender?

A woman who needed trauma-informed care was labelled a bigot for requesting a female HCP.

The mammographer signed one letter confirming she was female and another letter was placed in Dimyon’s medical records. But two weeks ago she saw her letters highlighted by the trust as examples of “unacceptable” and “highly discriminatory” communications in guidelines to support trans patients and staff.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3763519-A-woman-who-asked-for-her-NHS-breast-screening-to-be-carried-out-by-a-female-born-clinician-was-pilloried-as-a-transphobe-by-a-hospital-trust

www.brightonandhovenews.org/2019/12/09/hospital-apologises-to-rape-victim-for-branding-her-request-for-same-sex-breast-screening-medic-as-transphobic/

Great article.

I can't work out how to post the minutes from the meeting Baroness Nicholson was part a couple of weeks ago, but it describes details of all of the above.

Even after "apologising" that hospital says this:
However, it is not possible to guarantee to any patient that they will only be treated by a clinician assigned to a specific gender at birth and, as an organisation that prides itself on our commitment to diversity and inclusion, nor would we wish to do so.

@LeoOrTheo

Are patients allowed to ask for another nurse / doctor or chaperone on the grounds that they feel uncomfortable with the one they were allocated regardless of the HCP's sex or gender?

I believe so, yes. You can just say "I'm not comfortable with this HCP"

If however you say "I asked for a female HCP but got a TW" you'll be in trouble. You aren't supposed to mention it, but you can site a vague reason.

Obviously not everyone has read the complete rulebook of gender woo.

Fantastic article, spot on.

"However, it is not possible to guarantee to any patient that they will only be treated by a clinician assigned to a specific gender at birth and, as an organisation that prides itself on our commitment to diversity and inclusion, nor would we wish to do so."

That is pretty disgusting IMHO and may even be a potential breach of medical ethics. The patient's needs should always come first.

"is based on four common, basic prima facie moral commitments - respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice - plus concern for their scope of application. It offers a common, basic moral analytical framework and a common, basic moral language. Although they do not provide ordered rules, these principles can help doctors and other health care workers to make decisions when reflecting on moral issues that arise at work."

www.bmj.com/content/309/6948/184

The HSJ is indeed well read and well regarded.

I do find it extraordinary that most policies on single sex wards in the NHS have just thrown in a whole huge paragraph saying that anyone who identifies as a woman, even if they have a great big beard called John, can go into the women’s ward. This is without any proper consultation on the consequences. Sleeping overnight, changing, undressing, recovering or being ill are hugely vulnerable things for most people to go through. A man who say, is a serial sex offender could just say he’d like to go into the women’s ward and he will be able to. None of this has been thought through.

There are mixed wards and spaces but they have more protection and privacy in place - so hospitals often already have this option for those who’d like a third space.

Also, single sex wards are not just a preference. I think that this is where things have gone so wrong. If they were just a preference, with no real need on safety, privacy and dignity - then there wouldn’t be a problem. However when hospitals did bring in more mixed wards over the last half of the century - problems did arise and patients became distressed. Sexual harassment was higher in mixed wards also (there is evidence for this)

The NHS is built on medicine which is ‘first do no harm’. I think that there needs to be a professional review and at the very least a roll back and revert to policies on biological sex - then all relevant parties and evidence can be discussed properly until a solution can be found.

Wow, what an excellent article

Great article

Absolutely terrific article, one of the best I've seen on this issue. Perhaps the most significant thing is where it appears: the HSJ. The HSJ has had years in which to cover this issue, and it hasn't. Its decision to include an article this clear-sighted and hard-hitting is a sure sign of a turning tide.

It's interesting that a comment refers to it as clickbait - interestingly, I can't see that HSJ promoted it on Twitter so I wonder if they're getting clicks from their email?

Great post. Brave, though she can say this because she's retired. I keep seeing this - retired professionals can speak out in a way that younger ones who are still working in the field can't. While I'm hugely grateful to these people, it makes me a bit sad. I'm probably not going to be able to retire for nearly 40 years (god) and the best I can do is small acts of defiance.

Fabulous article. All the facts.

Some of the comments are so stupid. The usual crap about transphobia etc. The usual refusal to care about the experiences of women.

I suspect a TRA pile-on rather than this being a reflection of how people in the NHS think. Though who knows? Maybe they really are that thick.

Please consider sending an email of support to the HSJ editor, who is no doubt taking a lot of heat for publishing - [email protected]