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

Could I be allocated another pl x

Well that sounds quite different in tone to the social media announcements doesn't it?! Looking forward to what they publish. Thanks

Submitted Frimley Health Foundation Trust - but I've made a mistake on that one @FarriersGirl I've PM'd you

and Isle of Wight NHS Trust which has 20 pages of the 39 page EQUALITY DIVERSITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY given over to Guidelines for Supporting Transgender Employees. There are no guidelines for any other protected characteristics in the policy.

Slim pickings on both of these

I can pick up some more if any going begging

You are on fire with these..... well done!!! How about an ambulance trust? South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Ooh thanks - can you enter another form with just that note and the name of the trust please? I’ll scoop it up behind the scenes

Dear Vipers below is the list of trusts currently being worked on. If you could check please to ensure this is right. I know quite a few have been completed but will need an up date from Knotty before I add that information to the list.

Acute trusts in the South East region

Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Cantunseeit
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust -Cantunseeit
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust - Theeyeballsinthesky
East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Needmoretinfoil
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust - Yellowroom
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust - Cantunseeit
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Yellowroom
Isle of Wight NHS Trust - Cantunseeit
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust - socialdilemma
Medway NHS Foundation Trust - Yellowroom
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust - thenoisiestteramgant
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Community and mental health trusts in the South East region

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - withsilverbells
Central Surrey Health - FarriersGirl
First Community Health and Care - FarriersGirl
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust - Blackmetallic
Medway Community Healthcare
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Solent NHS Trust
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - teawamutu
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust - teawamutu
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - teawamutu

Ambulance trusts in the South East region

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust - Yellowroom
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

I am still working on my Trust. 1st time of doing this and gosh down some rabbit holes!

Done so - hopefully it all makes sense.

Please pace yourself - experienced auditors will agree, I think, that this is not an easy job. It is hard to find the stuff we’re looking for, made worse by the fact that when you do find it, it is horrible to read.

I second this. It's very hard to read how little women and children matter over and over again, and the coercive control within the policies too. I often think of the woman who was raped on a women's ward and then gaslit by the hospital who denied it for a year I believe, despite CCTV evidence and witnesses. I keep wondering how many more women or children there are who just weren't resilient enough to fight the gaslighting and the might of the unaccountable and well paid NHS execs.

I also wanted to say what a privilege it's been working with you all and the fantastic @KnottyAuty and @TwoLoonsAndASprout and I'm so impressed at the coverage so far thanks to their leadership.

It finally feels that women have a little bit of a voice when it comes to the failures of the NHS.

Gosh thank you for the mention. I don’t think I deserve it as i only did a little bit, compared to others, life’s demands and work called me away.

Proud to know you all and look forward to what comes of this.

I raise a glass to knotty who was the inspiration and steer for this.

the continued pressure on the NHS is so very important.

I’m out and about tomorrow so here’s thread #3 for when this one is done. Please finish off the thread here before popping on to the next one. Thanks!
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5353762-nhs-policy-audit-working-party-thread-3

I'm very late to the party indeed, but am enjoying making a small contribution. My life is a bit rubbish in certain respects at the moment and this is giving me something positive to do/occupy my mind until things settle.
Can't wait to see all the efforts go public.

I've had to put Berkshire on back burner for the mo. Will definitely complete by end of weekend though

What do you make of this? 2003 from Press for Change - consultation submission on the draft Equality Act as it was then... seems to have managed to predict a lot of the current confusion but somehow we find ourselves here anyway...https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmpublic/equality/memos/ucm1102.htm

It’s interesting. Particularly on children and young people (the para on “tom boys and sissy girls” is something I haven’t seen before) and on their comments on the single sex exemption which foreshadows the arguments re Goodwin which I’ve seen in various pieces of health and human rights guidance, and shows how influential Press for Change were in these policy areas.

its interesting that the early drafts of the EA seem to have allowed for an exclusion of transgender from single sex spaces based on balancing the rights of women and TW. PfC ask for this to be adjusted claiming this would be permitted harassment so they ask for this to be adjusted:

Example
� A clothes shop manager prevents a male to female transsexual person who has not yet commenced living permanently in her preferred gender role from using the women's communal changing rooms. This would be lawful as long as the manager has made a balance between the rights of the transsexual user and those of other users, taking account of all the circumstances, including the wishes of the transsexual user, the likely impact on other users and the availability of other facilities.

Effectively a no to self-ID but they must have known that this example is completely unworkable. How would the shop keeper be able to know?

Which is exactly what has happened. Knowing that the single sex protections were specifically mentioned in the EA early drafts and taken out is difficult to read.

Morning @FarriersGirl could you allocate me another couple of Trusts when you get a moment? Thanks

I think there’s maybe also a benefit to looking at the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 on the timewhere I think they talk about male dignity and excluding women from male jobs and spaces. It’s not always been considered a “woman’s issue”

My pleasure - Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

@KnottyAuty @TwoLoonsAndASprout I said I would have a closer look at the issue of a service that is commissioned by the NHS but actually delivered by a third party.

Commissioning decisions are governed by the NHS England and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) under the Health and Care Act 2022. These bodies must:

• Secure the best possible outcomes for patients.
• Promote integration of services across health and care.
• Ensure fair and open procurement, often under The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) since 2023, which replaced some former procurement rules (e.g., from the Public Contracts Regulations).

NHS services may be commissioned from social enterprises, charities or not-for-profits orgs when they meet legal, clinical, and strategic criteria. They are not given preference just for being non-profit — the focus is on outcomes,* *value, integration, and quality. It seems that such services are more usually local specialised ones such as Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Sexual health services. In the SE there are 3 community health organisations that are commissioned to do the work of a community trust but not NHS run. These are Central Surrey Health, First Community Health and Care and Medway Community Healthcare.

I think we treat them just the same from the audit perspective but you will probably want to take account of their differing status in the analysis stage. For ease I will do all three to see if there are commonalities [I already have my name down for 2 of them].

You are a star @FarriersGirl - thank you for that digging! Shout if any of us can help.

Thank you! Really good spot and it will be interesting to see how this quirk affects anything (or not)!

Can you please put a marker to flag them so I don’t forget please? (maybe in brackets after the trust name?)

Will do

Thread ended😀