New NHS guidance for trans people could put lives at risk, according to a Metro columnist. The guidance, confirmed yesterday, states that trans women will not be placed in female-only wards and that toilets and changing rooms will be available based on biological sex, not gender identity.
Concerns over mental health and delayed care
The columnist, Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir, argues the guidance is 'utterly useless' and could cause harm. She notes that research suggests trans people are more likely to avoid seeking healthcare on time due to fear of stigma and discrimination. Anecdotally, she says she already knows trans people who feel they will not be able to access vital services as a result.
'You cannot maintain our privacy, dignity and safety while forcing us to out ourselves,' she writes. The columnist argues that trans people will not seek healthcare when they desperately need it, leading to serious complications and potentially death.
Impact on an already strained NHS
The column highlights that trans people in England already experience higher overall mortality rates compared to cisgender populations, with data showing higher suicide rates. It also points to the NHS's severe lack of space and bed capacity, questioning how single rooms could be provided.
The columnist says the guidance breaks all six core NHS values for trans people and accuses the NHS of 'appeasing bigotry'. She argues that nurses and hospital staff are being forced to 'play gender police' and exclude, stigmatise and humiliate people.
The guidance follows a wave of trans exclusionary practices since the UK Supreme Court ruling in April 2025. The columnist concludes that the NHS, built on the promise that everyone counts, has decided that trans people don't, and 'some of us will pay for it with our lives'.
