NHS ‘seriously compromised’ by gender ideology which ‘harms women’s rights’, says government czar on tackling violence against women
- Policy Exchange said gender ideology had ‘seriously compromised’ the NHS
- Nimco Ali, the report’s author, said the ideology “diminishes women’s rights”
- NHS staff are able to ‘self-declare’ their gender identity according to report
The NHS is ‘seriously compromised’ by gender ideology, according to the outgoing government czar on tackling violence against women.
In a foreword to a new report by think tank Policy Exchange, Nimco Ali said its content suggests health services are “seriously compromised by an ideology that diminishes the rights of women and girls”.
The report cites a February 2021 letter from Evelyn Barker, then chief executive of the North Bristol NHS Trust, suggesting that patients cannot always be guaranteed intimate same-sex care.
The letter states that while different treatment options may include information about the clinicians involved and must be given objectively, “clinicians are not required to disclose their gender identity.”
In a foreword to a new report by think tank Policy Exchange, Nimco Ali said its content suggests health services are “seriously compromised by an ideology that diminishes the rights of women and girls”.
The report cites a February 2021 letter from the then chief executive of the North Bristol NHS Trust, Evelyn Barker, suggesting that patients cannot always be guaranteed intimate same-sex care.
It goes on to acknowledge that there may be exceptions where a transgender person may be “expected to disclose their gender identity, such as when required to care for vulnerable people”.
But Policy Exchange accuses the Trust of failing to consider exceptions in the Equality Act 2010, which it says ‘permits ‘same-sex intimate care and same-sex hospital services’, because the staff are allowed to ‘self-identify their gender’.
Miss Ali wrote: ‘Of course transgender people also face a very real kind of discrimination, and the law must protect them and allow them to live their lives freely.
“But when it comes to conflicting rights in a public institution like the NHS, decisions must be made with a democratic consensus and a full understanding that certain policies cannot be rubber stamped just because a minority cries the most. strong for them.” She said that “there can be no compromise when it comes to women’s rights”.
Miss Ali added that the right to privacy, dignity and safety as a patient is “inextricably linked to the foundations of the NHS”.
She added: “Taking away this right without consent is nothing short of a national scandal.”
Miss Ali announced her resignation as the Home Office’s independent adviser on combating violence against women and girls live on radio last month. She said she was on a “completely different planet” from Home Secretary Suella Braverman, “in terms of the rights of women and girls, and also the way we talk about ethnic minorities”.
Ms Barker, who retired last year, also said in her letter that if a patient had asked to be seen by a doctor of the same sex for an intimate procedure “we arrange that”, except in certain unavoidable circumstances such as an emergency situation.
Last night North Bristol NHS Trust said it had ‘nothing further to add’ to the letter.
