England proposes ban on transgender women in female hospital wards

Source: Sky News

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards in England, under new proposals suggested by the health secretary.

In his conference speech, Steve Barclay will reportedly announce plans to push back against what he calls "wokery" in the NHS, which he says has led to women's rights being increasingly sidelined.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Barclay said: "We need a common-sense approach to sex and equality issues in the NHS. That is why I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients."

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He added "sex-specific language" has also been "restored" to health advice pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause.

"It is vital that women's voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected," he said.

A source close to Mr Barclay told Sky News he was "fed up with this agenda and the damage it's causing, language like 'chestfeeding', talking about pregnant 'people' rather than women".

They added: "It exasperates the vast majority of people and he is determined to take action on it.

"He is concerned that women's voices should be heard on healthcare and that too often wokery and ideological dogma is getting in the way of this."

In April, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the government could ban trans women from entering female-only spaces, and asked parliament's human rights watchdog for its advice to change official wording from just "sex" to "biological sex", which she described as a "technical and contested area of law".