Health Education England and pronouns.

[Dinopawus]

Sigh. Just as I start to hope the madness is in retreat, along comes Health Education England with advice for Health staff to declare their pronouns to each new patient.

Because after their lengthy wait to see you with all the accompanying symptoms, stress and anxiety what patients really, really need is to know the staff pronouns.

Can someone tell Andrew Neil?

Declare pronouns to each new patient, NHS training advises

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/d35a0464-2eeb-11ee-bcc5-f14a39d6bb75?shareToken=ad922facc8a698d35e9c0dcde1d747b3

I've decided that if someone says to me 'my name is 'Sarah she/her' or 'Dave they/them' for example then I will say 'oh Sarahsheher or Davetheythen, that's an unusual name' and then wait whilst they explain the whole pronoun thing acting a bit dumb about it and asking questions that expose how ridiculous it is.

And how do we establish whether they should be sex-based or gender-based ones? I know what the first set are in my case but not the second. I wouldn't want to say "she/her" and mislead the person into thinking I have a specific gender identity.

😁🤣 can we all do this please!

I have to say I would struggle not to be sarcastic if someone told me their pronouns. It's all quite bonkers.

This HEE

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events/news/health-education-england-statement-intent-publicly-committing-trans-inclusion-equality-support-trans

colour me shocked! The level of NHS capture is off the charts

I’d feel very unsettled by someone telling me about their sex fetishes, eg pretending to be the other sex, when they were about to touch me.

My initial reaction would be that I've got an unqualified individual self identifying as a medic in front of me. Plus evidence that they're a bit of a narcissist centring themselves in what should be my medical consultation. 🙄

Hopefully I'd be able to overlook their fuckwittery and give them an opportunity to prove themselves as a competent medic able to centre a patient's health over their need to talk about themselves. Hopefully.

Another reason for me not to return to nursing.

A massive problem here is that someone resisting having this toxic ideology foisted upon them in a healthcare setting ("I don't accept your religion but welcome your professionalism and expertise") would be unwise because it could adversely affect the standard of the healthcare they receive.

You only have to look at how some of the evangelists behave on social media to know how unwise it could be to reveal oneself as an unbeliever.

Love to see them pull that shite on my elderly deaf mother.

"What? WHAT? I'm sorry I can't hear you. Ok...sorry what? Oh. Are they now?" Followed by a Dame Thora Hird smelling a fart expression.

What is enraging is that all of this is being done using tax payer's money at a time when maternity care is substandard in the majority of hospitals, waiting lists through the roof etc.
Just imagine how much good could be done if instead of funding these parasites, the money was redirected to address just some of the problems with maternity care.

Also this HEE:

https://www.gbnews.com/news/nhs-announces-probe-into-scandal-hit-diversity-manager-after-gb-news-investigation/448088

I would feel unsafe.

I have to ask for female HCPs for intimate routine procedures and that whole process is already somewhat traumatic (not using the term lightly, I have PTSD). I know NHS records staff by gender ID not sex, and I already feel I'm labelling myself a TERF by being a woman with trauma rather than a "be kind, I'm alright jack" woman like I'm supposed to be.

Declaring your pronouns to me is taking a political position and it's a particularly cruel political position which doesn't fully recognise the humanity of women like me. This seems deeply inappropriate when healthcare staff are already in a position of authority over their patients. Making traumatised women feel unsafe is going to negatively affect their care and end up being labour intensive for the NHS.

That statement is bizarre.

Hey chaps. There’s a sudden surge in people objecting to one tiny demographic.

Shall we listen to what those objectors are saying, given how unusual it is in this day and age for one tiny group to be singled out when there are many other underrepresented minority groups who are not?

Listen?

We won’t listen.

It’s only women.

They don’t matter.

We will continue with our Stonewall led rhetoric.

There’s obviously nothing to see here….

”FINGERS IN EARS CHAPS. WE WILL NOT TOLERATE UPPITY WOMEN. HERE WE GO. LA LA LA LA LA LA…. “

They may well think staff declaring their pronouns creates a 'safe space' for the tiny minority of people who ID outside the usual categories, but it creates an unsafe space for me.

If I'm confronted when I'm ill with 6'4" beardy Dave telling me his pronouns are he/him, I'll be thinking he's a loon for not knowing I see that. If he tells me he's a 'she/her' - I'm scared and out of there.

So very inclusive.

Mind you, I was listening to a recent Chatles Paris mystery on BBC Sounds the other day featuring the peerless Bill Nighy in the title role. When Charles was asked his preferred pronouns he replied diffidently 'um, I like all of them.'

It drives me absolutely bananas. Even if I thought stating pronouns was a good idea (and I don't) it isn't important when you introduce yourself to a patient.

What matters is the Patient Their needs. Their worries. Their situation. Nothing whatsoever about the member of staff.

Patient centred care. Not Stonewall diversity point scoring care.

hi, I’m Dr jones and I support Arsenal
Hi, I’m staff nurse Dave and I’m Gemini with Sagittarius rising
Hi, I’m your oncologist and I’m vegan.
Hi, I’m the new GP, let’s pray together before we start this consultation

🙄

Do they even know what the predominant demographic of NHS patients are? I've just been looking at ward lists - acute (not specifically care of elderly) wards in my trust have just a few patients under 40, no more that 25% depending on the ward, the majority are over 60.

How many of these patients will even know what the fuck the staff are talking about? And how many will be able to remember staff pronouns (or names)?

But the CEO of our trust has posted a video of her explaining the importance of pronouns and why she is adding them to her email address. That was about 3 weeks ago at the end of pride.
I've just been checking department emails - looks like the message hasn't got through. Just one nurse so far with she/her after her name. I doubt many around here will be introducing themselves with their pronouns.
Honestly I would be so embarrassed to do it.
I'd cringe less if I introduced myself with "Hi I'm Fanny and I weigh x stone which is about 2 stone too much" It would surely be an ice breaker!

My elderly grandparents and FiL all had spells in hospital in the last three years, all now deceased. If anyone had said this to them, they simply would not have had a clue what they were on about. How would this have helped my elderly relatives, during the final months of their lives?