NHS Policy Audit - working party - thread #2

[KnottyAuty]

This is a thread about “keeping the receipts” on NHS Policies prior to the Supreme Court ruling on 16th April 2025.

Our working theory is that there were no single sex spaces for NHS Staff or Patients in the entire country before that date, having all been removed by stealth. We are aiming to prove this by auditing websites and policies for all the UK trusts and using the results to raise public awareness. As well as recording what has happened historically, the information will form a baseline so we can check which Trusts comply or defy the judgement in due course.

We are working around the country region by region. If you fancy getting involved in a bit of grassroots feminism then please do join in to help!? Each trust takes about an hour to research and you can upload online without giving any personal details away. Comment below and we can give you the link to an online survey - it changes for each region.

Thanks soooo much to all the vipers who have helped so far and @ Twoloons for doing a great job with the thread wrangling!

Here are the press articles we’ve managed to generate so far:

Scotland:
25th March: The Telegraph
https://archive.is/dTUhY
26th March: Scottish Daily Express
https://archive.is/kaLCB
26th March: The Telegraph
https://archive.is/iSD9m

London:
21st April: The Telegraph
https://archive.is/awGuz
23rd April: The Telegraph (in conjunction with another thread by NHS mumsnetters)
https://archive.is/1DO8d

Original thread #1 here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5291237-nhs-policy-audit-working-party?page=1

• EPSOM AND ST HELIER UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS TRUST

Jennifer Melle's NHS trust, I believe

https://christianconcern.com/news/nhs-trust-exposed-waiting-a-year-to-probe-transgender-paedophiles-racist-abuse/

edit for clarification

Airedale submitted. I'm happy to take another - may be the weekend before I can get to it though - please let me know what still needs doing.

Good news. After the Darlington nurses met with Kemi Badenoch, she wrote to the RCN. Now the Royal College of Nursing regional director wrote (a month ago ....) to Darlington and told them to comply with the Workplace Regs across the trust, and maybe allocate the small space the nurses are using as a mixed sex space, and give the women back their single-sex changing room.

@KnottyAuty Maybe we can find what the Datix categories/fields are and then craft the FOI.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/inforequestbatch/4113 - this Dec 2023 FOI batch asked trusts to "provide a list of all gender options you list on patient forms." I don't know if Datix has standard options specced across all trusts or they define their own fields. I'll ask some people who might know.

Thanks!
@TwoLoonsAndASprout what's on offer?

Hello! I’ve got:

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

for you! Thank you!

Thanks for the ping Knotty!

Good news. After the Darlington nurses met with Kemi Badenoch, she wrote to the RCN. Now the Royal College of Nursing regional director wrote (a month ago ....) to Darlington and told them to comply with the Workplace Regs across the trust, and maybe allocate the small space the nurses are using as a mixed sex space, and give the women back their single-sex changing room.

That is very good news. So the RCN (a trade union) has decided they should be making sure employers comply with the law!

Great news!

Hello I have done most of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust but have hit a wall with finding a single sex accommodation policy. They keep all.policies from public view, everything has to be requested via FOI. Ermine did request last year but they did not send - at the beginning of this month she requested it being chased up. I've also submitted an FOI but it may be 2-3 weeks before she or I get a reply. Should I finish off and submit what I've got or do you have time for me to hang on for the single sex policy? I've found some interesting stuff on the website (they host a gender dysphoria clinic and have strong Stonewall links) so am keen to see what the policy says

Ok! - I'll be on this in a day or 2.

So, my first thought was submit what you have, and then submit a supplementary form when you get a response to the FOI (so just a form with the policy they come back with and any notes you make). But let’s ask@KnottyAuty, because she has a closer eye on the timescales.

That's what I thought might be best. But will wait for confirmation. Thank you

@TwoLoonsAndASprout Hi there. Happy to take another Trust for my weekend entertainment!

There are some FOIs to trusts to ask about changing facilities - so not looking at policy just at actual provision.
Swindon apparently have NO lockers or dedicated changing space in several wards including the Neonatal unit where I would have thought nurses would wear scrubs (though this may not be the case). Leaving aside changing and toilets - where do nurses leave their coats and bags then? It’s ridiculous.
I also note that SERCO provide male and female spaces for facilities staff.

The FOI does not examine what kind of woman gets to use a female changing area. Simply if there is such provision in the first place. Which is the law is it not?
The extent of failure to provide for female staff throughout the NHS is being laid bare.

Link to FOI

Sorry if this digresses from the purpose of the thread as a policy audit, I thought it useful to see what provision there is as well as the policies. It’s a bit irrelevant having a policy that says women are women or women are whoever says they are a woman and they can use whatever changing room suits them if there are no dedicated changing rooms in the first place.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/provision_of_single_sex_changing_2#incoming-3010167

Marvellous! How about:

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Have a lovely weekend going down rabbit holes!

Thank you for these! Def not a digression - these FOI requests are sometimes the only way we can find this information. And yes, that’s even worse than “change where you like”.

Here is the current state of the list - shout if I’ve made any errors!

Trusts in the North East and Yorkshire

[Italics = claimed, strikethrough = completed]

Acute

• Airedale NHS Foundation Trust - NeedMoreTinfoil
• Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - teawamutu
• Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - teawamutu
• Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust - Faffertea
• County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust - Cantunseeit
• Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - NeedMoreTinfoil
• Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust - WithSilverBells
• Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
• Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
• North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust
• North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
• The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
• York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Ambulance

• North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Community and mental health

• Bradford District Care NHS Trust
• Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust - Blackmetallic
• Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust - Cantunseeit
• Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - YellowRoom
• Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust - FarriersGirl
• Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust - umbel
• Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust - umbel
• South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist

• Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust - thenoisiesttermagant

I can take Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys to do as well - while awaiting the FOI on CNTW

Brilliant - all yours @Blackmetallic! Thank you.

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2025.05.16-051623/www.edp24.co.uk/news/25162970.norfolk-hospitals-defy-supreme-court-ruling-trans-care" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2025.05.16-051623/www.edp24.co.uk/news/25162970.norfolk-hospitals-defy-supreme-court-ruling-trans-care/

Just adding this. Seems Norfolk has a problem.

I've also written to Mersey NHS Trust ( which covers most of the big Liverpool teaching hospitals) after having read their policy document on 'Single sex accommodations' ( referred to earlier in thread)

Oh brilliant, thank you for the reminder! Have you had a response yet - sorry if you’ve already said!

No, not yet...... and I've just forwarded the letter to the board of directors

I can do Leeds Teaching Hospitals