NHS doctors are told not to ask trans patients their names because it is ‘rude, intrusive and insensitive’, according to unofficial rules
- Poster at a major hospital tells medics to ‘stop asking inappropriate questions’
Doctors are being told not to ask trans patients their names in unofficial rules drawn up by activists at a major hospital.
A poster on display at the Royal Free Hospital in London tells medics to ‘stop asking inappropriate questions’ and claims that asking ‘what is your name’ is ‘rude, intrusive and insensitive’.
It says asking if a patient is ‘really a man or a woman’ is another ‘no-no’ and recommends offering to accompany a trans person to the toilet because the harassment they suffer is ‘very real’.
It is thought the sign was made by an LGBT support group, possibly incorrectly adapted from a Health Education England guide stating that it is wrong to ask a trans person ‘what is your real name’ or to ask what they were called before they transitioned.
A poster on display at the Royal Free Hospital in London tells medics to ‘stop asking inappropriate questions’ (File Photo)
The poster says asking if a patient is ‘really a man or a woman’ is another ‘no-no’ and recommends offering to accompany a trans person to the toilet because the harassment they suffer is ‘very real’ (Stock Photo)
A spokesman for the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust insisted: ‘There is no trust policy that says staff should not ask a patient’s name and our staff always address patients by their preferred name.’
Another banner in the Royal Free suggests that only staff members wearing an official ‘ally’ badge are ‘safe’ for LGBT patients to speak to.
The Policy Exchange think-tank said the guidance was likely to make clinical practice ‘a challenge’ and that the use of the word ‘safe’ was troubling as it implies that LGBTQ+ patients ‘may only receive ‘safe’ care if provided by a member of staff wearing this badge’.
The Mail yesterday revealed that 77 hospital trusts in England are part of a ratings system in which they gain points if they drop ‘gendered language’.