Radiographers at several NHS hospitals have been instructed to ask all men aged 12 to 55 if they are pregnant before performing X-rays.
The controversial policy, aimed at considering non-binary, transgender and intersex patients, has sparked outrage among patients and campaigners alike.
The guidance, which follows an incident where a transgender man unknowingly underwent a CT scan while pregnant, requires staff to ask about pregnancy status without making assumptions about apatient's gender identity.
Some hospitals have gone further, asking patients to complete forms stating their sex at birth, preferred name and pronouns.
According to The Telegraph, the policy has left some women in tears and driven men to storm out of appointments. Radiologists have described scenes of embarrassment and frustration, with one patient on an urgent cancer pathway abandoning their appointment in anger.
Campaigners are calling on NHS Trusts to scrap what they deem 'humiliating' practices. Critics argue the policy could trigger traumatic memories for some patients, such as those who have experiencedmiscarriages.
One radiologist reported that a patient requiring daily scans for a week began to doubt their own identity after repeated questioning.
