Britain’s National Health System is to ban transgender patients from women-only wards — as its secretary hits back at a “shock” in medicine.
Steve Barclay, 51, vowed to update the NHS constitution on Tuesday, which includes banning transgender patients from gender-specific wards, allowing patients to seek care by those of the same biological sex and for staff to stop pronouncing pronouns for those in their care
Barclay, who has been Health Secretary for a year, said his plan would bring a “common sense approach to sex and equality” and protect women’s rights.
“We will change the NHS constitution following a consultation later this year to ensure we respect the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients; recognizing the importance of different biological needs, and protecting women’s rights,” he wrote to Xformerly known as Twitter.
“We need a sensible approach to the issue of sex and equality in the NHS. That is why I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients,” Barclay told the Telegraph.
“And I can confirm that gender-specific language has now been fully restored to online health advice pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and menopause. It is vital that women’s voices are heard in the NHS and that the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected.”
Secretary Steve Barclay has vowed to update the NHS constitution to ban transgender patients from gender-specific wards, allow patients to seek care by those of the same biological sex and ask staff to stop declaring pronouns for patients. Reuters
Earlier this year, the NHS faced a major backlash after shifting towards using more inclusive language in its branding, opting to change breastfeeding to breastfeeding and calling mothers “in labor,” among other controversies.
Barclay is reportedly fed up with the “ideological dogma” that has overtaken the health care system.
“The Secretary of State is fed up with this agenda and the damage it is causing, language like ‘breastfeeding’, talking about pregnant ‘people’ rather than women. It upsets a large number of people, and he is determined to take action on it,” a source close to him told The Telegraph.
“She is concerned that women’s voices should be heard on health care and that too often chaos and ideological dogma get in the way of this.”
The NHS website has reverted to gender-specific terms while maintaining a more inclusive section. For example, there is an entire page dedicated to breastfeeding and similar information on breastfeeding for transgender and non-binary patients.
“We need a sensible approach to the issue of sex and equality in the NHS. That is why I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients,” said Barclay. via REUTERS
In addition, Barclay has ordered training materials, which tell medical staff to inform patients about their pronouns to create a safe space, to be withdrawn.
“I know as conservatives we know what women are,” she told the Tory party conference. “It does not mean ignoring the voice of the patient — especially the voice of women when it comes to the importance of biological sex in health care.
“If we don’t get it right now, the long-term consequences could be very serious for the protection of women and future generations.”
Many activists and organizations are happy with Barclay’s new plan.
Maya Forstate, director at the campaign group Sex Matters, called the news “fantastic,” saying that “trans staff activists have wreaked havoc across the health sector.”
A doctor who co-chairs the Clinical Advisory Network, Louise Irvine, praised Barclays’ move, saying that “biological sex is important when it comes to healthcare,” but reiterated that “doesn’t mean trans people can’t be treated with respect and meet their healthcare needs .”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
