NHS Policy Audit - working party -Thread #3

[KnottyAuty]

NHS Policy Audit - working party -Thread #3

Original thread #1 here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5291237-nhs-policy-audit-working-party?page=1
Thread #2:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5322494-nhs-policy-audit-working-party-thread-2

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!

My feeling, from having read many of these policies, is that they are all sort of sequential Frankenstein’s monsters - no one person wrote them, at least not in the last 15 years. Something was written once, and then over time bits got appended, or hacked out, or overwritten, until we end up with the nonsensical patchwork we have today.

Which may also play some role in why so many people thought they didn’t have to do a proper EqIA - at each stage they thought they were just slightly “updating” an existing policy.

From Devon Partnership NHS Trust Trans policy:

"This policy refers to trans (transgender), transitioning, non-binary and intersex people throughout; for the purpose of this policy these terms are used to describe all people who have a gender identity which differs from that which they were born as and the more fluid identities of genderqueer people."

"Gender - This describes characteristics such as appearance, presentation and behaviour to identify gender (not sex). Characteristics could be masculine, feminine or androgynous."

"Intersex - A term used to cover a variety of different conditions where a person has sexual or reproductive anatomy that is outside of the definitions for male or female."

They think "intersex" people have a gender identity that differs from what they were born as, although they don't seem sure what gender "intersex" people were born as, and since they think "gender" is about how you present and behave, how can a newborn baby have a gender anyway?

Fab thank you - next one for your delectation is Salisbury Hospitals NHS Trust!

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust completed. And EHRC Consultation completed 😇

Loving this from MTW NHS trust dress code; where a uniform requires trousers to be worn by all (sic) sexes, trans women may prefer to wear a skirt so that others are clear about their gender status.

Skirts are only for special men, not women.

Ah. So is the presumption that if they didn’t wear a skirt, it would in fact be unclear what their gender status was?

Trousers obviously make it impossible to tell. On the other hand, if they do wear a skirt then they can use the gents, like all the other men, because they have already 'outed' themselves.
What a time to be alive

I’m pretty sure there was some interesting wording in more than one policy that I’ve read that suggested that certain uniforms would make certain genitalia (if the owner had chosen not to remove such) more visible, and that certain staff might wish to avoid these types of uniforms.

It is all beyond farcical.

I've submitted Royal Devon University - this is long again

LGBTQ+ workforce reports: - Garbled mess - can't see how you could get data from this. No mention of sex.
From staff survey - asking if people are cis-gender, non-cisgender or prefer not to say.
All gender identities have reported an increase in unwanted sexual behaviour from other colleagues from previous years data, most notably from those who prefer not to say (4% increase) and non-cisgender staff (3.8% increase).

Trans, Non-binary and Intersex Gender Recognition Patient Support Guidelines
Gender – roles, behaviours, activities, attributes and opportunities that a society typically attributes to people of a particular sex. Often expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity, gender is largely culturally determined and, in British culture, is assumed from the sex assigned at birth.
Instances of inappropriate or transphobic language or behaviour will trigger a misconduct investigation, and may constitute a criminal offence and/or hate crime... Some examples of discrimination on the grounds of gender re-assignment may include: Refusal to allow use of sanitary facilities appropriate to their gender identity
Someone who is intersex may identify and/or present as female but find it easier to urinate with a bottle. Ask the patient discreetly and confidentially if unsure. Make sure to cover the receptacle when in transit if it is at odds with the patients lived gender
Family of choice members (chosen family rather than blood relatives) are particularly important to trans, non-binary and intersex people, who may have been ostracised from their blood family.
Demi-girl (or demi-woman): Someone who identifies partially but not wholly with a female gender identity. This could be someone assigned male at birth who identifies more (but not completely) with a feminine gender identity, or someone assigned female at birth who feels little connection with a female gender identity, but not to the extent where they feel male.

TRANSGENDER WORKPLACE A guide for staff and managers
Cisgender (adj) (abbreviation: cis) refers to a whole range of people who find their gender identity or gender expression matches the gender assumptions made by others about them based on their sex assigned at birth. The term simply describes this situation, as opposed to transgender where the gender identity does not match that expected based on the sex assigned at birth. It is not a derogatory term. It comes from the latin “cis” (“on the same side of”) and “trans” (“on the opposite side of”).
An employee whose transition involves medical assessments and treatment may require time off, for example, for surgical procedures, hair removal or speech therapy. These types of procedures should not be viewed as elective or cosmetic. An employee may also become unwell as a result of hormone treatment and therefore take time off from work.
Certain roles may be gender specific, for example in rape and abuse centres for women. According to the Gender Recognition Act, a person holding a Gender Recognition Certificate should be treated in every respect according to the gender specified on the certificate. However this may not always be the case with a person without a certificate. In these cases there are no clear rules, instead the Trust may consider seeking expert legal advice on how to proceed on a specific issue and when developing recruitment policies for these roles. In some cases it may also be useful to consider why there is a gender specification on a particular role and if there is another way to support and protect vulnerable people.
Patient Requests to See Specific Sex/Gender Clinician - ...patients may ask to see a specific sex/gender clinician... trans clinicians will be supported in their identity and acquired gender to see such patients. For trans clinicians who are not comfortable seeing a patient who has made such a request... Trans clinicians are not obliged to divulge their gender identity and no other members of staff should divulge their gender identity without their consent.

From Stonewall assessment - Action: Develop guidance to support supporting a non-carrying parent to breast/chest feed.
Epic is mentioned as being a great thing, so I have included an article on how Epic got gender identity on to their patient system and also the problems with Epic by Sex Matters - 'On the form, patients are registered according to their “legal sex” rather than their actual sex.'

Thanks. Wow! Thats even higher up the gender-woo scale than any of the London Trusts (and I thought they’d be the top scorers!).

It seems like the SW regions have gone waaaay beyond the law?

I like the idea of a gender woo scale @KnottyAuty. Like those things you hit with a mallet at fun fairs.

hi @FarriersGirl, I have submitted Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust so please feel free to allocate me another one! 😀

Like this one?

Especially like that one 🤣

Couldn’t find a version with a viper winding up the scale and a stoat wielding the hammer…

The Rainbow Badge scheme is Stonewall Law by the back door, without proper scrutiny. It gets no evaluation, and ends with unlawful and discriminatory policy recommendations, which include removing sex based language and encouraging men breast feeding. The feedback is given to an NHS trust in a meeting with a senior exec and gets adopted without critical thinking.

Staff are asked to sign up to a pledge. They think they are being kind. They do not understand the impact.

Here's how one trust describes it:
"Our teammates who wear a pride badge or lanyard have pledged that:

• you can talk to me freely about difficulties you are facing and I will do my very best to find support for you
• our organisation is a place of inclusion where we respect and celebrate LGBTQI+ patients and staff
• I will challenge discrimination towards LGBTQI+ people in our organisation."

Rainbow badges also use survey results (small numbers of self selected staff) to make assertions about discrimination etc. It's rotten.

Another woman and I separately FOId most Engllish trusts on Rainbow Badges, and got the recommendation reports for many trusts on www.whatdotheyknow.com We weren't coordinating so may have missed some trusts. So you may find Rainbow Badge requests for your local trusts or the trusts you are analysing now. If you want any trusts we missed FOId on this, DM me.

Raibow Badges was funded by NHS England, and promoted strongly by Stonewall, the LGBT Foundation, NHS funders and Dr Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement. Brady said in 2021:
‘The NHS Rainbow Badge has been one of the most successful and widespread initiatives in raising LGBT awareness across the NHS. The badges have received an enormous amount of interest, including participation from over 90% of NHS trusts within just 18 months of the project launching. This is largely thanks to the visionary work of Dr Mike Farquhar and colleagues at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. I am delighted that we’re able to build on this success by investing in Phase 2 of the project, to support delivery of wider objectives to improve the care and reduce inequalities for LGBT patients, as well as improving experience for LGBT staff. I am really pleased that this new partnership between the LGBT Foundation, Stonewall, LGBT Consortium, Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard and GLADD, all of whom have many years’ experience in this field, are taking this work forward.’

Some trusts are introducing similar badge schemes on race. DM me if you want info on this. This is the hierachy of the alphabetti and race over the disabled, the old, people with religious beliefs and women etc, encouraged by senior NHS leaders and funders.

The Rainbow Badges scheme is being extended into GP & dental practices,pharmacists & optometrists via Pride in Practice. It's backed and peomoted by some local authroties and integrated care boards (ICBs - successors to the clinical commissioning groups which fund care via GP practices in England).

ICBs are also funding work by LGBTQIA+ charities without safeguarding and contrary to Cass.

sources:
https://archive.ph/woRz9
https://archive.ph/8EQsm
https://archive.ph/tj3Wp

Love it ❤although a viper in there somewhere would have been extra special as TwoLoons said! We are starting to get through the SW quite nicely - its smaller than the SE.

Here you go Torbay and South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Thank you

You wims are doing absolutely amazing work, I am so grateful.

Adding here that a reason why the patriarchy is loving the TRA movement is because they often try to interrupt, hold up, disrupt, even, women from mobilising; because when they do, as in this series of threads documenting the NHS policy audit - it's terrifyingly efficient.

Hullo @FarriersGirl - please can you allocate me another

Morning - we are both early birds today. How about Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust?

Hi @FarriersGirl I'm ready for another Trust or two when you get a minute 🙏

Here you go - Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. Thank you

Echoing this. Thanks, Vipers of the NHS Policy Audit! 🫶

I was suffering from peri-meno lengthy night waking finally received my cheque from the far-right so was out drinking Cristal.until 5am.