A woke NHS hospital has sparked outrage after telling staff not to describe babies as being “born male or female”.
In an apparent attempt to move towards “more inclusive” language, Guidance produced by the James Paget University Hospitals Trust in Great Yarmouth advises staff to say that new born babies are “assigned female/male at birth” claiming this “accurately depicts the situation of what happens at birth”
The Telegraph reports: The document, called Celebrating Pride, includes an “LGBTQ+ glossary” with definitions for the range of terminology that should be used. It also has a list of words and phrases to avoid in order not upset patients.
For example, the term “ladies and gentlemen” should not be used to address a group of people but instead staff are encouraged to say everyone, folks or honoured guests.
It says people should be described as “gay” instead of “homosexual” because this “often connotes a medical diagnosis or a discomfort with gay/lesbian people”.
It also tells staff to avoid terms like “both genders” and “opposite sexes” because it implies there are only two – as well as titles such as mailman, fireman, and policeman.
Biologically accurate language
Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a human rights charity, said it was “hard to fathom that any hospital is still promoting trans activist language more than two years after the then Health Secretary instructed the NHS to return to biologically accurate language”.
Ms Joyce said: “It is also frankly embarrassing to see a hospital – a place where medical knowledge matters – making the ridiculous argument that people are “assigned” female or male at birth rather than simply being female or male, as a matter of material reality.
“The leadership at James Paget Hospital needs to get a grip, say no to its trans-activist staff and return to recognising that accurate language about the two sexes matters in healthcare.”
Kate Barker, the chief executive of LGB Alliance, the charity and advocacy group, said lesbian, gay and bisexual people “are not offended by the term man or woman”.
“In fact, as same-sex attracted people, the sex binary is pretty central to who we are. This tired old nonsense benefits no one, other than to justify the pay of ‘diversity’ consultants,” she said.
Rupert Lowe, the Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth, criticised the hospital and said his “constituents would prefer this inaccurate and confusing woke nonsense was left out of the hospital”.
“It’s astonishing that guidance from a hospital, which is full of doctors and nurses who have spent years studying, does not seem to know what happens when a baby is born,” he said.
“We aren’t ‘assigned’ male or female at birth. We are male or female at birth. There are sexes. We must not be afraid to say that,” he added. “There is no confusion around the science of childbirth. This ludicrous language suggests there is. We must be respectful to all, but we must also not deny medical reality.”
He said it was “plain bonkers” that the NHS hospital was suggesting using “ladies and gentleman is offensive”.
It comes after Victoria Atkins, the former Tory health secretary, pledged to strengthen the NHS Constitution to ban hospitals and other health service providers from replacing the word women with people, or using chestfeeding instead of breastfeeding, in health literature.
