Telegraph covers NHS staff threatening to bin EHRC guidance

[ChristinaXYZ]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/04/05/nhs-equality-chief-leads-mutiny-against-transphobic-watchdog/ for the full piece. some key elements below. I think the two journalists have done a really good job - covered all the bases.

"....Tara Hewitt, the group head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, described the guidance as “transphobic” and said that NHS bosses should put it in the “bin”.

Her calls for NHS leaders to be told to “ignore” the legal opinion of the UK’s human rights body was backed by Kathryn Thomson, the chief executive of Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, and Aaron Cummins, the chief executive at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust....

"Legal experts warned on Tuesday that NHS trusts not following the watchdog's advice on the law “could well come unstuck”.

Amanda Jones, a barrister specialising in gender law at Great James Street chambers, added that it was “unwise publicly to publish your refusal to engage with the EHRC’s guidance”.

....After its long-awaited clarification was published, the Trans NHS Staff Network put out a message on social media urging “all NHS Equality Teams to ignore this transphobic and hostile guidance from EHRC that is likely to be found unlawful at judicial review and continue to write and follow trans inclusive policies and guidance”...

...All NHS trusts have a duty to comply with the Equality Act. The EHRC's guidance, published on Monday, stated that service providers can “limit access to their service for trans people” if it “is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. This “could be for reasons of privacy, decency, to prevent trauma or to ensure health and safety”.

Ms Jones added that “if you don’t follow the guidance and you come before a court, the court is going to want some serious explanation of why you’re not following it”, she said.

Estelle Carmichael, the deputy chief of people for Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust which employs Ms Hewitt, said: “As a responsible health care provider and employer, our approach is to focus on treating all of our colleagues and patients according to their individual needs.

“We will continue to advise our staff to follow the principles and responsibilities of the Equality Act 2010, as set out in our local equality, diversity and inclusion policies and procedures. The manager who made these comments is a well-known equality advocate and has expressed a personal opinion on this matter.”

Morecambe Bay declined to comment whilst Liverpool Women's NHS Trust did not respond when approached by this newspaper."

Very good.

“Unwise publicly to publish your refusal”

Is that lawyer speaking for ‘you fucking idiot’

I continue to be equally horrified and amazed that ppl in positions of power and responsibility like an NHS trust CEO believe that a man is a woman because he says he is

Sunlight is always good

They don’t believe it. They know full well that a man is a man. They know full well that a male cannot become female.

People in positions of power and influence within the NHS, as well as in any other public service or institution, who think they are above the law and unanswerable to their patients/service users whilst acting in direct opposition to legislation on sex-based protections, should be held to account and removed from their position.

Ah Tara Hewitt

Continuing the TRA theme of saying the quiet bits out loud.

Nice bit of distancing from Estelle there.

FFS I am Morecambe Bay, how dare Aaaron Cummins ignore human rights legalities. Will be looking into this, horrified.

@Nnique

They don’t believe it. They know full well that a man is a man. They know full well that a male cannot become female.

People in positions of power and influence within the NHS, as well as in any other public service or institution, who think they are above the law and unanswerable to their patients/service users whilst acting in direct opposition to legislation on sex-based protections, should be held to account and removed from their position.

This.

Shame we can't send them the recording of the CGD employees struggling to answer Ben Cooper QC's questions in the recent tribunal. I think it would be very instructional for them to hear what the reality is when they have to defend an ideology and actions stemming from it in court.

It's great publicity. The enthusiasm of Tara and Tara's followers for wedging male born sex offenders into women's hospital wards needs the maximum publicity. And it seems as if journalists are beginning to ask the questions that have been forbidden for so long.

Im a bit confused about Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust comments on this. Do they treat trans women there? What women's health issues would trans women have? And as for treating trans men there, well, where else would they go for healthcare related to their sex?
Unless it's about trans staff and refusing treatment to women who don't want trans women examining them?

It just shows how many problems are created when the law about what is a woman and the biological reality of what is a woman mismatch.

My son told me that Mississippi had a law in the 1920s saying Pi was 4.
Despite what the law said though, Pi wasn't 4.

Turns out I was wrong about every single bit of the Pi thing

www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/02/05/indianas-state-legislature-once-tried-to-legislate-the-value-of-pi/

I’m so glad journalists are asking questions.

Good.

“unwise publicly to publish your refusal to engage with the EHRC’s guidance”

Well, quite.

Handy for the lawyers that these individuals choose to publicise their deliberate rejection of safety guidelines.

@Theeyeballsinthefuckingsky

“Unwise publicly to publish your refusal”

Is that lawyer speaking for ‘you fucking idiot’

I continue to be equally horrified and amazed that ppl in positions of power and responsibility like an NHS trust CEO believe that a man is a woman because he says he is

Yes, it’s definitely lawyer-speak for “don’t be so bloody stupid”

@Kendodd

It just shows how many problems are created when the law about what is a woman and the biological reality of what is a woman mismatch.

My son told me that Mississippi had a law in the 1920s saying Pi was 4.
Despite what the law said though, Pi wasn't 4.

Holy Bible 1st Kings, 7:23 appears to state that pi = 3.

Maybe that's what he's thinking of.

Also:

'Rebecca Bull, the co-founder of Sex Matters, said she would be “quite surprised” if "high-level" employees would take Ms Hewitt’s advice “over the legal experts at the EHRC”'

'surprised' does a lot of work in these circs.

There's a thread on Tara's advice here:

Tara Hewitt Head of 'Equality Diversion & Inclusion' at Northern Care Alliance advising NHS leaders to ignore EHRCs recent guidance. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4522576-Tara-Hewitt-Head-of-Equality-Diversion-Inclusion-at-Northern-Care-Alliance-advising-NHS-leaders-to-ignore-EHRCs-recent-guidance

I love it when the legal types express 'surprise'. I generally translate it to 'aghast' in my head.

Yes I think a judge in one of these cases expressed ‘surprise’ or something similar and James Kirkup (I think) helpfully explained it was judgespeak for WTF?

That is brilliant because due to the screaming from the misogynistic mob, more women then ever will KNOW that they can ask for the EHRC guidance to be followed & provide the with safe single sex spaces they need.

Loads of people wouldn't have even known they had a govt body backing their requests to feel safe when vulnerable if the TRAs hadn't made enough fuss for it to get in the papers.

Feels like summer is on the way with all the sunshine we're finally getting this spring.

That is like a Stuart McKenna from the NHS trust covering Tameside and Glossop that Dr Emma Hilton had some dialogue with yesterday. He has protected his tweets. He is the HR person for that trust and publicly announced on Twitter that he would be telling people to disregard the guidance IIRC.

@Theeyeballsinthefuckingsky

“Unwise publicly to publish your refusal”

Is that lawyer speaking for ‘you fucking idiot’

I continue to be equally horrified and amazed that ppl in positions of power and responsibility like an NHS trust CEO believe that a man is a woman because he says he is

The unwise publisher of a refusal to obey should be the first sacking. Followed by all others who agree to go against the rules

The nhs has had a lot of stonewall training. It is understandable staff will push back against anything they have been told is transphobic. Now training is required to explain why women are the vulnerable group.