Fife Health Board service delivery survey conflates sex and gender

[MathSausage]

I just tried to respond to a survey from Fife Health Board about coping in the pandemic, healthy living and whether services can be delivered remotely rather than in person. As well as questions about my age, employment, disability etc there was one that asked about sex where woman included trans woman and man included trans man.

This is shocking coming from NHS Scotland. They should know that biology and therefore sex make a big difference to patients’ needs. Any statistics gathered will be unable to inform policy makers of the different needs of patients according to their biology. Neither will they be able to say anything about trans people’s needs.

What about biological women’s different needs for chaperoning, likelihood of suffering from domestic abuse and so on? What about their relative poverty and difficulty travelling compared to men?

I will write and point this out, but since they started promoting rainbow lanyards and being a supportive environment to LGBTQ people earlier this year (as if older, poor and female people don’t get ignored?) and I got a male chaperone when being checked by a male consultant a couple of years ago, I expect it will be brushed off.

Fuming. How can they blithely assume women and transwomen have the same healthcare needs?

I have recently completed a survey from the NHS Scotland on my GP service. They too asked for my Gender and gave the options of male female and other. I phoned up the helpline and asked what information was being asked for here? Was it my sex and if so, why did the NHS think there were more than 2 sexes, or was it my gender identity and if so , what should I answer if I had none? The poor young lady on the other end of the phone said she could perhaps understand where I was coming from and said that I didn't have to fill it in. When I pointed out that surely the NHS was interested in the sex of the respondents, especially given the huge gaps in provision for female patients highlighted only recently by the Government, she mumbled that I should fill it in as I saw fit and said she would pass on my concerns. Needless to say I waited for the paper copy of the survey and also expressed my views there.

NHS Scotland is controlled ultimately by ScotGov which is currently controlled by pro self ID gender ideology adherents in the SNP and SGP. It isn't surprising at all. We need a change at the top before this nonsense will go away. NHS Fife were pushing the "inform on your colleagues" pro gender ideology pledges and badges a couple of months ago. Most docs and nurses think it's nonsense but most institutions and organisations in Scotland are either captured or afraid, particularly those dependant on government money..

news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/medics-should-treat-gender-and-sex-differently/
St Andrews is in Fife so perhaps you should point out what Dr Margaret McCartney, of the School of Medicine at the University of St Andrews, said in a recent research paper: QUOTE “There are many instances of sex and gender being confused by the research community and society more broadly.

“Unless we identify and count categories correctly, we will end up with errors which serves all populations poorly, including minority populations.”

Sex and gender are not synonymous. Sex, unless otherwise specified, relates to biology: the gametes, chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive organs.

Gender relates to societal roles, behaviours and expectations that vary with time and place, historically and geographically.

Both categories are important and describe different attributes that must be considered depending on the purpose they are intended for, suggests the paper."

Who do I need to write to (ideally email) about this? I am not impressed.

The intro page for the survey is here:

www.nhsfife.org/conversation/

Thanks dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby, That’s a very helpful quote.

If anyone wants to email, the address for the patient relations team is [email protected]

Sorry, that email bounced. This one didn’t:

[email protected]