Wes Streeting on single sex wards

[ArabellaScott]

https://twitter.com/SkyPoliticsHub/status/1752059704233124087

'it should not be beyond the realms of possibility to have wards for women, wards for men, and also suitable safe accommodation for trans people'

'single sex wards' - but dodges the question about whether this would be by sex or gender.

If he's talking about separate accommodation for trans people, surely he must mean that other wards should be genuinely single sex?

He says it shouldn't be "beyond the realms of possibility" but in practice it's quite difficult. Because the Tories have cut the number of hospital beds, every single bed is precious. Single-sex wards mean that you could eg have a spare bed in a women's ward, but no spare beds in a men's wards, therefore creating an awkward choice between putting the man on the women's ward, or refusing to admit him.

When you add trans into the mix it gets more complicated - where are they going to go? Are you going to keep a ward full of empty beds just for trans patients? Or will you put trans patients into single rooms, thus creating an obvious temptation for anyone to say they're trans just to have a private room?

Well why not go the whole bloody hog and build separate everythings for trans people? Toilets, hospitals, schools, refuges, the lot. Poor little deprived sods they are. (Sarcasm alert.)

I think someone (Edinburgh university possibly?) declared that is is actually very transphobic indeed to avoid trans people for fear of offending them. I think trans-specific provisions would fall foul of this.

New build hospitals are now moving to private single rooms; that is certainly the case at the new hospital in my city. I can imagine though even then there might sometimes be a need for a whole wing of rooms which may still need to be single sex.

Interesting to see this play out on X.

TRAs are very, very angry.

Women don't seem all that happy either, though.

In trying to appease two sides Labour seem only to be succeeding in pissing everyone off.

Another quote:

He added: "We want to see single-sex spaces because they are safer spaces"

It should not be beyond the realms of possibility to have a well funded health service, and I'd say that's a more pressing priority than setting up new trans wards and trying to staff them!

Streeting is a complete opportunist so this is no surprise. He’ll flog the NHS to the highest bidder (his soul went long ago & I’ve no doubt but that he’d indeed sell not only his own granny but other people’s too; possibly passing them off as his own if it’d get a better price) if he gets the chance & thinks he can get away with it by claiming the Tories did it & ran away.

Wes Streeting cares very deeply about Wes Streeting. And the furtherance of Streetingself’s political career. He’s ready to step into Starmer’s shoes even if it means chopping off his boss’ feet to do it. So he’s trying to make the kind of statement people have been asking Starmer to make - & presumably is realising he needs to fecking grovel to some of his female colleagues eg Rosie Duffield…

'Wes Streeting cares very deeply about Wes Streeting. And the furtherance of Streetingself’s political career'

I agree. Wouldn't believe him if he told me the sky was blue. I desperately want to see the back of the Tories, but I'm sick to death of Labour and their disingenuous bullshit

'it should not be beyond the realms of possibility to have wards for women, wards for men, and also suitable safe accommodation for trans people'

He is correct, it shouldn't be impossible. However he doesn't say that he will fight for single sex spaces, or push for it to be in the labour election manifesto, or get a cross party whatever to discuss how to make it a reality.

It's just words. No action. No call to arms. No substance. Just fluff and hot air, as per usual.

'single sex wards' - but dodges the question about whether this would be by sex or gender.

I thought he was completely clear. Asked if wards should be by gender and he said 'no, we should have single sex wards'.

There is literally no way that anyone will build separate wards for trans men and trans women. The cost would astronomical, as well as being against the EqA. He's lying.

Does he want to go to an A&E on a Friday night and see the corridors lined with trolleys and paramedics waiting there to sign their patients off? It’s all mixed sexed there.

Or the fact my Dd has a serious health condition and is being pumped full of meds to keep her going because she doesn’t have any appts as she’s aged out of paeds and is now on the waiting list for adults. There must be thousands of young women and men in the twilight zone ages. Those waits are mixed sex too.

But also when Dd is bed ridden and a dignity she has in hospital is to have her personal care done by a female and have female patients round her so she is safer when she is unable to move and there are no nurses about to constantly keep an eye on her. There was a woman patient fixated on her in hospital recently and I had to leave her overnight as she’s a teenager but it’s an adult ward. This woman was throwing food, screaming and constantly pulling the curtains open to stare at my Dd. There were not enough nurses for constant 1-1. The lovely Ward sister let me stay the next night which wasn’t policy but it helped keep her safe.

Thats why single sex care matters. You don’t realise how much until it affects your children. And females, however they present, should not be left bedridden with male mobile patients around them.

It doesn't breach the Equality Act, single sex wards rely on the single sex exceptions, there is no requirement to admit males into female spaces. Single sex hospital facilities are mentioned in the Equality Act.

After the appalling report into assault levels in mixed sex psychiatric wards; yes we need single sex. When we go to hospital, we should not expect to get raped.

Well there is always the option of TM on female wards and TW on male wards.

If Stonewall and other single issue trans groups don't want to fight for suitable accommodation for Trans people I don't know why women should bother.

All we need is single sex wards.

'If Stonewall and other single issue trans groups don't want to fight for suitable accommodation for Trans people I don't know why women should bother'

One thousand percent agree. This is not women's issue to fix. I'm sick and tired of being told to budge up and be kind and all the other bullshit. If certain groups of people want third spaces, they can advocate for them themselves, and leave women out of it

Keep males out of womens wards, I don't care how they identify or what surgery they've had, they are a different sex to female.

Providing facilities for trans people is against the Equality Act?

Wow - you'd think Stonewall would be all over protesting against that one.

They don't need to build new wards, just re-badged existing ones.

Providing single sex services is not in breach of the EA.

If he's talking about separate accommodation for trans people, surely he must mean that other wards should be genuinely single sex?

He doesn't talk about separate accommodation though. He talks about 'suitable, safe accommodation'. This is despite a lot of evidence that it's women who have been made unsafe in this scenario.

'Suitable, safe accommodation' could mean literally anything to Streeting just as the word 'Women' could so I'm not going to take this opaque statement to mean he would keep wards single sex in the true definition.

It's no more beyond possibility to provide private, dignified facilities for a trans person who does not want to use the facilities for their sex than it is to provide alternative private, dignified changing for a kid in a secondary school who does not want to use sex based facilities. Doesn't matter if it's difficult or expensive, that is inclusion, that is respectful to their identity and then there is a choice. Sex based or alternative separate.

The only denied part is 'yes you can go be with the women and use them regardless of your impact or their consent' because that is obviously wholly unreasonable and unacceptable.

I've got no patience for wailing and whining that not being allowed to use and abuse women is genocide and separatism. Many women would bloody love the option of identifying away from being used by unpleasant men with no respect for them. Which any man forcing himself in a women's space for his own reason is, by definition.

As with prisons, if 'you can have your own space if you want it but you're not using women and their spaces' was enforced it would be interesting to see if there is sufficient need and demand that obviously proportionate facilities and funding will have to be found, as was the case with accessible entrances and toilets. Which also raised howls and wails and protests and a lot of 'I can't' but was achieved in a few years, the blueprint is there.

Or, if like third space sports, if women are off the menu, there's actually very little demand.

Isn't it staggering how cross people get when it's suggested that the law might actually protect women from being used and harmed and excluded.

It's almost like their politics is dependent on a captive, subordinate resource base of them.

Was that elsewhere in the interview? He doesn't say that in the clip in the OP.