NHS employees risk losing their jobs and livelihoods for challenging radical gender ideology, the boss of the equality watchdog has been told. In a landmark meeting, Mary-Ann Stephenson, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, heard how the health service was ignoring lawful same-sex policies and persecuting staff who challenged them.
Nurse's testimony
Bethany Hutchinson, who took on County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for allowing a male nurse to use a female changing room in accordance with its transitioning in the workplace policy, begged the regulator to ensure the law was upheld.
She said: “Our meeting with the EHRC was an important opportunity to explain what nurses and other healthcare professionals are experiencing on the ground. Nurses should not have to risk their careers simply by asking NHS employers to follow the law and protect the dignity, privacy and safety of patients and staff. The experiences of the Darlington nurses and others raise serious questions about how protected beliefs are treated within the health service. We will not stop pressing NHS trusts, regulators and national leaders to provide clear, lawful policies and meaningful accountability.”
EHRC code update
The EHRC was forced to undertake a major update to the existing code of practice – first published in 2011 – to reflect the definition of sex following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland vs The Scottish Ministers. The judgment issued on April 16 last year provided an unequivocal answer to the definition of sex in law, stating that biological sex is irrefutable in terms of the Equality Act, which provides legal workplace protection.
The code, which covers England, Scotland and Wales, confirms a service must be used on the basis of biological sex in order for it to be classed as single-sex. But instead of providing clarity, the code has caused chaos and division with a number of left-wing London councils vowing to resist because it is “harmful to the rights of trans people”.
Resistance and legal challenges
Campaigners argue this demonstrates what the public has long suspected – that the public sector has been captured by a damaging ideology, with resistance to conforming to its legal duties, leaving it open to a flood of legal challenges, with the bill picked up by taxpayers.
Guidance on the use of toilets and changing rooms as single-sex spaces came into force on August 5, almost 18 months after the landmark Supreme Court ruling on biological sex. The code confirmed that a service must be used on the basis of biological sex in order for it to be classed as single-sex under the Equality Act. It means single-sex toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, and refuges must be used based on a person’s birth sex, not the gender with which they identify.
The new code is not legally binding but provides guidance about how to comply with existing law following the Supreme Court judgment. Several councils have already publicly stated they will ignore it, while scores of NHS trusts and other public institutions are likely to do the same.
Ms Hutchison said: “There is a need for clear evidence where individuals are being singled out because of their beliefs, rather than concerns simply being dismissed as organisational failings. As the EHRC's revised code of practice comes into effect, these questions cannot be ignored. Public bodies, NHS trusts and regulators must ensure that equality law protects everyone, including those whose beliefs are unpopular or contested. The experiences of the Darlington nurses demonstrate why transparency, accountability and equal treatment under the law remain so important.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “The law must be applied in practice, not merely acknowledged in principle. NHS trusts and regulators cannot dismiss legitimate concerns as isolated organisational failings while similar policies remain in place across the country. We will continue pursuing every appropriate legal and regulatory avenue to ensure the Supreme Court’s ruling is implemented and that professionals with Christian and gender-critical beliefs receive the protection guaranteed to them by the Equality Act.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS will publish approved new guidance for the health service on single sex accommodation shortly, in line with other public sector bodies. In the meantime, hospitals should be acting within the principles set out in the EHRC code to ensure all patients are cared for with dignity and respect.”
