NHS chiefs have been forced to rip up their pro-trans guidance after it was rendered illegal by the Supreme Court ruling, as Health Secretary Wes Streeting says he wants new guidance in place by the summer. The Telegraph has more.
The NHS Confederation, which represents trusts, has quietly withdrawn guidance telling hospitals that they should allow trans people to use their chosen toilets and changing rooms.
The group told the Telegraph it had taken the guide down from its website because it had become “dated” since the Supreme Court judgment that the word sex in the Equality Act means biological sex.
Reached in April, the decision means trans women, who were born male, should use men’s toilets and changing rooms, contradicting the previous stance of a string of public sector organisations.
The confederation’s advice is now being updated in line with the Supreme Court ruling and new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and will be published later.
On Thursday night, women’s rights charities demanded that the confederation apologise for the guidance, which they claimed may have led to unfair decisions, such as the case of Darlington nurses who were disciplined for demanding single-sex facilities.
They said that rather than deleting the guidance, the confederation should actively inform all trusts that it was now null and void.
Maya Forstater, the Chief Executive of Sex Matters, said: “Its guidance encouraged a hostile, humiliating and unsafe environment for NHS workers and patients. It was published with much fanfare but withdrawn by stealth.
“NHS Confederation should now apologise publicly for undermining women’s rights and the culture of care. It should also undertake to contact all NHS trusts, telling them that its guidance was flawed and that policies based on it should now be torn up.”
A growing number of public bodies are changing their guidance in light of the Supreme Court judgment, including the Football Association, which has said trans women would be banned from women’s sport.
However, neither NHS England nor the NHS Confederation have put forward new guidance.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has said he wants the new guidance in place by the summer.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.