Sex is a biological fact, the NHS declared this morning. Seriously, if the health service was ever in any doubt about that then no wonder that we have ended up in such a mess over sex and gender.
Personally, I would ban the word ‘gender’ from law and policy, and return it to what it did best – classifying foreign nouns. The headlines, on the other hand, have pointed the finger at transsexuals. Trans women will be banned from women-only wards, according to the Telegraph. At this stage I need to declare an interest – I have a wife and daughter and I would not be happy about either of them being required to share such an intimate space with people who were ‘born male’ and remain male.
I know just too much about the trans community, and how wide and diverse the group of people that shelter under the ‘trans umbrella’ has become. Society has changed massively since I transitioned in 2012. Since the push for self-identification, it has been impossible to distinguish between those who might have some sort of psychological disorder, the seriously deluded, the chancers and those with nefarious intent. To keep women safe – and comfortable – we need to stay out, all of us.
That said, such a policy – if implemented – would cause a new set of issues for hard-pressed hospital managers. Trans women were originally assigned to women’s wards and not men’s not because of policy but because it made common sense. If someone looks more like a women than a man, even in the shower, then it is absurd to ignore the evidence of everyone’s eyes. Treating the sexes equally, it also raises the question of where to place trans men who look far more like men than their own sex. They might be biologically female, but it’s not the way things appear.
This is the problem. We do not need simplistic solutions, we need ‘common sense’ solutions. While the NHS might state – correctly – that sex is biology and ultimately comes down to the presence or absence of a Y chromosome, genetics are not in most people’s minds when they assess who is a man and who is a woman. If the NHS goes against that evolved instinct then new absurdities will be created.
The solution has already been mooted: trans people could be put in private rooms. That, incidentally, was my own experience when I was admitted to hospital for a routine procedure a few years ago. No fuss was made, arrangements were made and everyone was happy. On another occasion I was housed in a mixed-sex ward where everyone had a private room. The new hospital had been designed that way. It makes sense not to duplicate every ward – one for women and one for men – but give everyone privacy. It’s normal in private medicine and normal in other advanced countries. If it’s not OK to be forced to share with the opposite sex, why is it OK to be forced to share with our own?
The trans debate has held up politics, and exasperated growing numbers of people. It has been a distraction – luxury politics – that has had a debilitating effect on policy as activists ruled the roost. But if the end result is a move towards privacy for everyone then maybe some good has come out of it. Good policy is good policy for all. It may be more expensive but if it is good enough for transsexuals – and the wealthy in private hospitals – then surely it is good enough for everyone.
Debbie Hayton is a teacher and journalist.
Her book, Transsexual Apostate – My Journey Back to Reality is published by Forum
* This article was first published by The Spectator on 30 April 2024: The NHS has finally seen sense on biological sex.
Debbie Hayton 
2 replies on “The NHS has finally seen sense on biological sex”
I agree up to a point, but I don’t think the private room for all is either practical or always desirable. You mention the cost, but this is not just a minor issue to be overcome, as I’m sure you know. There is practically no room for patients in the hospital corridors at present, let alone on wards and in separate rooms, while some buildings are actually in danger of falling down. The NHS has been collapsing financially for decades, and that will only get worse with the ageing population. This may be due to dreadful political decisions – privatisation by the back door siphoning off tax-payer’s money, poor investment in the Service and its staff (as well as community care services), burgeoning middle-management waste, and failure to process immigrants’ claims to live and work here.
But in addition to that lack of a magic money tree or any selfless politicians, there’s the issue that shared wards aren’t just a negative to be avoided if possible, they often create mutually-supportive mini communities of patients with similar issues, keeping morale up. Some will prefer privacy, of course, but some, sitting day after day in a room on their own with only staff and – perhaps – visits from family and friends, suffer depression in that isolation, which can hamper healing from all manner of ills.
That leaves me with no more solutions and an even more complicated problem (which, unfortunately, the transgender craze has foisted on us – with a very few, reasonably well passing transsexuals, it was much easier to deal with). But an approximate direction to point in might be as flexible a system as possible, taking each case on its own merits, but within a sensible legal framework limiting what is acceptable.
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If ,as claimed, Trans is not a mental health issue then use of the NHS is where trans people need to get real and understand the issues rather than demanding their rights. Presumably a Trans woman with a prostate problem would not really want to be on a female ward where the nurses may have little experience of this issue but you can’t pick and choose depending on what medical issue you have. Trans people have to realise that they are not the norm and while every effort is made to accommodate them they have to make some compromises to fit in with society as we all do. Why can’t male wards be altered to fit the situation? Why aren’t men up in arms about their wards being flooded with trans men? Some men are taking advantage of this situation. That’s a fact and needs to be recognised and dealt with before it gets any worse.
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