A growing number of NHS hospitals in London are reportedly circumventing established single-sex accommodation guidelines, creating a situation where transgender individuals share facilities with women.
Currently, there is no provision for genuinely segregated spaces for female patients and staff within the entire National Health Service. Instead, existing protocols have allowed for instances of shared use of toilets, shower rooms, and hospital wards alongside transgender patients – a practice that has been repeatedly defended despite significant legal challenges.
Recent revelations, brought to light by The Telegraph, detail the actions of approximately twenty-eight hospital trusts across the capital who have demonstrably failed to uphold mandated single-sex space regulations. This defiance follows last week’s landmark Supreme Court judgment which established that biological sex defines “woman”.
For example, the policy statement on the website for Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals highlights a commitment to patient privacy and dignity, promising provision of single-sex areas. However, this declaration directly contradicts their own stated policy allowing for situations where sharing accommodation with the opposite gender is “justified” – a phrasing that appears to conflate the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. The relevant provisions regarding transgender patients are relegated to appendices, stating that individuals can self-identify without constraint.
Recent developments underscore the ongoing controversy. A Freedom of Information request from The Telegraph revealed that Central and North West London University NHS Foundation Trust asserted a dedication to recognizing all staff and service users based on their preferred gender presentation – “so far as is reasonable and practicable.” Despite acknowledging potential vulnerabilities, particularly concerning women and children with histories of abuse, the trust maintains that transsexual individuals possess an equal right to access single-sex facilities.
Several prominent hospitals, including King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, have adopted a strategy allowing transgender patients to self-identify their gender identity. Conservative spokesperson Kemi Badenoch has strongly criticized this approach, placing responsibility on Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting to ensure compliance with the law.
“The legal position is quite clear,” Badenoch stated. “But ideological managers within the NHS are either refusing to adhere to it, being misled by advocacy groups like Stonewall, or simply leading patients down a false path through confusion amongst Labour MPs.”
GB News has sought comment from the trusts involved – Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Central and North West London University NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – but has not yet received a response.
