The Health Secretary will announce later today that trans women will be banned from female hospital wards.
Steve Barclay will tell the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, that he intends to push back against wokery in the health service.
According to the Telegraph:
The changes would give men and women the right to be cared for on wards only shared by people of their own biological sex, and to have intimate care provided by those of the same sex.
Mr Barclay said the plan would mean the return of “a common-sense approach to sex and equality”, ensuring that women’s dignity was protected and their voices heard.
The proposals follow concerns from patients and staff about biological men being allowed on to women’s hospital wards. In 2021, NHS guidance said trans patients could be placed on single-sex wards on the basis of the gender with which they identified.
Mr Barclay will also announce the return of “sex-specific” language to the NHS after references to women were expunged from advice on the menopause and diseases such as cervical and ovarian cancer.
On Monday, women’s campaign groups hailed the changes as “fantastic news” and a return to “reality-based thinking”.
Mr Barclay has become frustrated by “ideological dogma” in the health service, where terms such as “breastfeeding” have been replaced by “chestfeeding” and guidance refers to pregnant “people” rather than women.
He will use his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Tuesday to announce a consultation on changes to the NHS constitution, which sets out patients’ rights, in order to strengthen protection for women.
Under the changes, trans patients would be housed in separate accommodation, which could mean their own rooms.
Earlier this year, a report by the Policy Exchange think tank warned that NHS trusts were compromising women’s rights by providing same-sex intimate care based not on a staff member’s biological sex but their self-declared gender identity.
On Monday, Mr Barclay told The Telegraph: “We need a common-sense approach to sex and equality issues in the NHS. That is why I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients.
“And I can confirm that sex-specific language has now been fully restored to online health advice pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause. It is vital that women’s voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected.”
