The NHS trust which runs the Royal Sussex Hospital apologised to a rape survivor for including her letter requesting a female-born medic for a breast-screening appointment as an example of transphobia, it was reported in late 2019.
Gay-rights campaigner Clare Dimyon requested a natal female to perform a mammogram for her in 2018. In August 2019, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust published its new trans policy. It included the letter as an example of ‘highly discriminatory’ correspondence from patients which should be referred to the hospital’s equality diversity and inclusion team. Her name had been redacted from the letter.
Dimyon noted that the door to the examination room states ‘gentlemen stay outside’, presumably because the hospital recognise this is an intimate examination.
Confusing response
In responding to Dimyon’s complaint about the way her letter had been treated, a spokeswoman for the Royal Sussex said: ‘We are very sorry for any offence or upset caused … and have now removed [it]’.
As the letter continued, it demonstrated three areas where the hospital appears confused about natal sex.
Firstly, it used sex and gender as interchangeable terms. There may well have been a time when these were used and understood as having similar meanings. But the rise of transgender ideology has ended this. Sex is the only word which now accurately describes the binary reality of male and female humanity.
Secondly, the hospital said it wanted to ‘apply the same principles [in this request] as it would if a patient requested clinicians from particular … ethnicities’. This suggests that the hospital does not see gender identity for what it is, but rather as a fixed characteristic like ethnicity. It is impossible to choose to be a ‘black female’. The hospital is therefore ignoring the reality of detransitioners, who by their very existence prove that gender identity is not akin to ethnicity: gender identity can be reversed or rejected.
Thirdly, the hospital noted: ‘We recognise our employees by the gender they identify as on a daily basis, as it is essential that we respect the gender identity of all our staff.’ So today the clinician may be male, yesterday female, and tomorrow who knows what ‘they’ will be.
The Royal Sussex is at present still identifying as a place where scientific study is applied to the treatment of patients.
