THE Conservatives have sparked outrage with plans to ban trans women from being treated in female hospital wards.
Speaking at the Tory conference in Manchester Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the change was to recognise “the importance of different biological needs” in health care, but LGBT+ charity Stonewall said it would discourage trans people from seeking healthcare.
A spokesperson said: "This is a cynical attempt by the Secretary of State to ‘look busy’ instead of getting on with the graft of implementing the women’s health strategy, and, besides being unworkable, all it will achieve is to restrict access to healthcare for trans women, by making it humiliating and dangerous.”
The NHS constitution will be changed following a consultation later this year, according to Barclay, to prevent trans women from being treated in female hospital wards.
The current rules
As it stands, the NHS constitution in England requires that trans people “should be accommodated according to their presentation”, meaning how they identify and how they dress.
There are exceptions, including prohibiting “pre-operative” trans people from using open shower facilities.
It notes that privacy can “usually be ensured through the use of curtains or by accommodation in a single side room adjacent to a gender appropriate ward”.
Hitting out at 'diversity and inclusion'
Barclay said: “To deliver the change the NHS needs, we need a relentless focus on patient outcomes and that mean prioritising frontline resources.
"It does not mean spending huge sums of taxpayers’ money on diversity consultants or hiring bloated internal diversity and inclusion teams.
"I know as Conservatives, we know what a women is." The Health Secretary explains why he "ordered a reversal of unacceptable changes to the NHS website that erased references to women for conditions such as cervical cancer".https://t.co/UyZUj3KBg6 📺 Sky 501 / YouTube pic.twitter.com/kSXyN6DG6C
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 3, 2023
“And it does not mean ignoring patient voices, especially women’s voices, when it comes to the importance of biological sex in healthcare.
“If we do not get this right now the long-term consequences could be very serious for the protection of women and future generations. And conference, I know as Conservatives we know what a woman is and I know that us majority and the vast majority of NHS staff and patients do too.
“That is why I ordered a reversal of unacceptable changes to the NHS website that erase references to women for conditions such as cervical cancer and stopped the NHS ordering staff to declare pronouns to each new patient.
“And that is why today I am going further by announcing that we will change the NHS constitution following a consultation later this year to make sure we respect the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients, recognise the importance of different biological needs and protect the rights of women.”
He was backed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman who said that “trans women have no place in women’s wards or indeed any safe space relating to biological women”.
She added: “And the Health Secretary is absolutely right to clarify and make it clear that biological men should not have treatments in the same wards and in the same safe spaces as biological women.
“This is about protecting women’s dignity, and women’s safety and women’s privacy.
“And that’s why I’m incredibly supportive and I welcome the announcement today by the Health Secretary.”
But his comments sparked fury from opponents, with the Scottish Greens accusing the party of "stoking of hate against trans people" as part of their election strategy.
Maggie Chapman, the Greens MSP for the North East, said: "This isn't even a dog whistle. It is a deafening foghorn blown by a desperate Tory Government that I hope is in the last days of its terrible reign.
"These comments are yet another shameful attack on the dignity and safety of a small and already very marginalised group that is bearing the brunt of a cynical and reactionary culture war that has been waged by Downing Street.
"The Prime Minister and his colleagues have spent the last few years spreading the most vile misinformation without any concern for the consequences.
"They have opposed even very small and basic changes like Gender Recognition Reform in Scotland that would take some of the pain and bureaucracy out of a process that can be traumatic.
"Now they are now trying to remove rights that trans people have had for years in order to score political points. It is clear they mean to ramp up their stoking of hate against trans people as part of what I have no doubt will be a divisive and disgraceful election campaign.
"Trans rights are human rights, and my heart, rage and solidarity is with our LGBTQIA+ community and our trans siblings in particular who are being targeted, scapegoated and punished by this rotten, reactionary and bigoted Tory Government."
