Regulator sends equality 'reminder' to NHS Fife
The equality regulator has written to the Scottish government and NHS Fife amid the ongoing row over single-sex changing facilities.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it had "reminded" the health board of its "obligations" under the Equality Act 2010 and requested to see assessments of policy.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the chairwoman of the regulator, also asked for a meeting with Health Secretary Neil Gray regarding the government's forthcoming NHS Scotland Guide to Transitioning policy.
The intervention comes after two weeks of evidence in an employment tribunal brought by Sandie Peggie, a nurse who objected to sharing a changing room with Dr Beth Upton - a trans woman.
Ms Peggie was suspended after an altercation with Dr Upton on Christmas Eve 2023 at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. The tribunal is currently adjourned until July.
More stories from Edinburgh, Fife & East
More stories from Scotland
The equality regulator says health bodies must have an "accurate understanding" of how the Equality Act operates in relation to the provision of single-sex spaces.
Baroness Falkner said it had "reminded NHS Fife of their obligation to protect individuals from discrimination and harassment on the basis of protected characteristics, including sex, religion or belief and gender reassignment".
She added: "Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, all Scottish health boards must assess how their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics."
Baroness Falkner said the regulator had asked NHS Fife to provide evidence of how its policies and practices prevented discrimination and harassment of staff based on those protected characteristics.
It also requested any information relevant to how the policies had been kept under review and any details on how the health board ensured the rights of different groups were balanced.
The EHRC also wrote separately to NHS Fife to stress that any new policies regarding "eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations" must be assessed.
It said the results of any assessments must also be published, and that it had not been able to find this information on the NHS Fife website.
The letter also mentions workplace regulations stating that changing facilities will not be suitable without separate spaces for men and women.
A second letter was sent to Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray and First Minister John Swinney.
In this letter the EHRC stated it was important that the upcoming NHS Scotland guide would "faithfully reflect and comply with the Equality Act 2010".
In the draft NHS Scotland guide it states decisions regarding trans people using changing facilities should be "made on a case-by-case basis" and that "managers must balance the needs of the trans person to use this facility against the needs of other members of staff."
Changing room row nurse faces disciplinary hearing
Is there a lack of clarity around UK's gender laws?
A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: "We acknowledge the letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and note its contents. We will respond fully to the commission in due course."
A Scottish government spokesperson also said it would respond to the letter in due course and added: "The Scottish government expects all relevant organisations to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
"As employers, organisations may need to consider the impact of other legislation, such as the requirements of the law on health and safety in workplaces.
"The Scottish government supports the separate and single sex exceptions in the Equality Act 2010, which can allow for trans people to be excluded when this is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
World's largest walking football tournament held in Glasgow
The Walking Football Scottish Cup and Festival took place at Glasgow Green Football Centre (Image: Supplied) Scottish football stars have attended the world's largest one-day walking football tournament. More than 900 players from 92 teams took part in the Walking Football Scottish Cup and Festival on Saturday, June 7, held at Glasgow Green Football Centre. Advertisement The event, organized by Walking Football Scotland and sponsored by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS), brought together participants from across the country to compete in multiple categories. It attracted high-profile visitors, including former Scotland manager Craig Levein and ex-players Peter Grant, David Hopkin, and Dougie Imrie. Read more: Gala day featuring football match with Still Game star to take place in Glasgow MSP Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, was also in attendance. Gary Brewer, director of people and culture at CHSS, said: "It was amazing to see so many people come together and, once again, celebrate the Walking Football Scottish Cup and mark the world's largest one-day walking football event." Advertisement The tournament is part of a two-year partnership between CHSS and Walking Football Scotland aimed at improving health outcomes for people over 50. Figures from Public Health Scotland have revealed that nearly 11,000 people in Scotland had a stroke last year. This remains one of Scotland's main causes of long-term disability. In addition, coronary heart disease remains Scotland's biggest killer, with 300,000 people in the country living with the condition. Activities, such as walking football, are designed to help people improve their physical activity and maintain a healthy heart. Walking football provides a gentler alternative to traditional football, helping participants stay active while reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Advertisement Gary said: 'Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is committed to supporting the one in five people across the country with our conditions. "One of the best ways we can do this is by improving health outcomes for people across Scotland and playing walking football is a great way of contributing to reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. "Walking Football Scotland can reach a vast number of players, and we have been able to offer support to clubs, players and their families. "It's great to see the popularity of the sport continuing to rise and we hope our partnership with Walking Football Scotland continues to grow from strength to strength as well." Read more: Billy Connolly, football and love: Book reveals what matters to Glaswegians Kenny McLean, president of Walking Football Scotland, said: "Walking Football Scotland continues to lead the way, not just in participation but in impact. Advertisement "Breaking records and building communities — that's what this game is all about, and I couldn't be prouder of what we're achieving together. "This is our showcase event – a celebration of everything walking football represents. "But the real heart of the game lies in the hundreds who play week in, week out across Scotland. "A huge thank you to everyone who makes this movement so special." Winners on the day included Braehead FC in both the over-40s and over-50s women's categories, Saint Anthony's in the over-50s, and Pollok Utd in the over-60s and over-65s. Alloa Athletic took home the over-70s title, Glasgow Life won in the Parkinson's category, while the Universal Wanderers took home the Peter Collins Fair Play award.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
MSPs to vote on scaled-back social care reforms
It started life with a promise from Nicola Sturgeon that it would be most ambitious reform of the devolution era. But when MSPs vote on the final stage of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill later, the proposals in front of them will be a shadow of what the former first minister pledged in 2021. At the heart of the revamp of social care services was meant to be a National Care Service - but this was dropped by SNP ministers following widespread opposition to how the shake-up would have worked in practice. However, the planned law to enable this flagship change has lived on and will now deliver changes to social care procurement, family care home visits and a new right to breaks for unpaid carers. When it became clear the National Care Service was not going ahead, the Scottish government was left with a Bill it was trying to get passed that was carrying the same name as its defunct policy. This was solved by renaming it the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill and now the planned law focuses on a series of important, but less high-profile, changes to health and social care across the country. One of the big changes planned under the new law is a legal right to breaks for unpaid carers. This mean councils will have a duty to decide whether a carer is able to take sufficient breaks from their caring role. If they are not, then the local authority will provide support to enable this, such as providing funding for short respite breaks. This policy, given Scotland has around 700,000 unpaid carers, will cost between £196m and £315m by 2035/36, according to the Bill's financial memorandum. However, it remains a fraction of the £13.9bn that unpaid care is currently saving Scotland every year. Improvements to the way information is shared in health and social care - to make it less likely that people will have to repeat their information - as well changes to procurement rules in the sector are also planned. Beefing up the powers that watchdogs can take against failing care providers is also part of the bill. The most high-profile part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill is Anne's Law, which allows people in care homes to receive visits from a named loved one even in restricted measures. It is named after Anne Duke, who died aged 63 in November 2021 after being cut off from her family while battling early-onset dementia during the Covid pandemic. Her daughter Natasha Hamilton started a petition about the issue at the height of the pandemic, which attracted nearly 100,000 signatures, and this led to a wider campaign about the rights of people in care homes. "I find it sad that it gained that much traction, it showed it was just not me who was affected, but I felt like I had to do something," she explained. "It was the most vulnerable point of my mum's life, she really needed her family and I still can't believe the separation that happened. "But I'm proud that I did this for my mum and for everyone else who had to endure the torture of isolation during Covid." Changes to ensure people living in care homes have the right to visits from a loved one were introduced by the Scottish government in 2022 via national standards for the sector. If the bill is passed by MSPs, the right to have a designated visitor into care homes to support loved ones will become a legal right instead. The original proposal for a National Care Service, inspired by the NHS, was to take social care provision and staff away from local authorities into a new national agency. That was then dropped in favour of creating a national care board to supervise service delivery and improve consistency - but this failed to win over a growing number of critics. Council body Cosla and trade unions then withdrew their support for the project, while a number of health boards and care organisations also expressed concerns. The plan, which was also subject to a series of delays, was eventually scrapped in January after £30m was spent on the process. Social Care Minister Maree Todd said at the time she was "still committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service" but added the SNP no longer had the support it needed in parliament to pass its original plans into law. What is left of the plans today is the creation of a national care service advisory board on a non-statutory basis which will try and improve social care support services. Government scraps plan for National Care Service Why was Scotland's National Care Service scrapped? Almost £30m already spent on National Care Service
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Children's hospice announces £17m revamp
Kinross children's hospice Rachel House is set for a £17m revamp, thirty years after it opened. The hospice, which was the first of its kind in Scotland, is one of two run by Children's Hospices Across Scotland (Chas). The redesign will include an additional hydrotherapy pool, better-equipped bedrooms and fully accessible adventure gardens. Building work is due to start next year with the full project set for completion in 2027, subject to approval from Perth and Kinross Council. Rachel House was built in 1996 at a cost of £10m and opened by HRH The Princess Royal. It supported just under 100 children a year in the 1990s, but that number has more than doubled and continues to rise. The charity said that the redesign had "put children and families at the heart of the process" with their input key to the changes being made. Dr Qusai Alhamdan, whose children Mo and Elaine have been supported by Rachel House since 2021, said the hospice was "very close to our hearts." The children both suffer from ataxia with oculomotor apraxia, which causes problems with movement, co-ordination and balance. Dr Alhamdan said: "As their condition is degenerative, making memories together as a family is very important to us and we have spent many wonderful respite visits at Rachel House over the last four years. "My wife Esraa and I find our visits to the hospice very relaxing because we don't have to worry about our caring responsibilities as the lovely nurses and staff take over and do everything that is needed so we can just enjoy precious time together." Ken Lowndes' two daughters Jenny and Marion were two of the first children to be cared for in Rachel House when it opened. Born healthy normal babies with a two-year age gap, both Jenny and Marion were diagnosed with leukodystrophy when they were four years old. Before Rachel House opened, the family made regular 900-mile round trips from their home in Achiltibuie, north of Ullapool, to Martin House in West Yorkshire. Mr Lowndes said: "We helped to fundraise for Rachel House but we never knew if Jenny and Marion would get to visit, if they'd live to see it. "They did. They loved it, as did we all. "Ensuring the next generation of families has the same standard of care that my family experienced is vital and the redesigned Rachel House will go on to make a huge difference to hundreds more Scottish families." Chas chief executive Rami Okasha said the charity wanted to transform end-of-life care for children and their families in Scotland. He said: "No one should face the death of their child alone and to be successful we are once again asking or donors to get on board and help raise the millions of pounds that will make a difference every day for families dealing with the unimaginable reality of loving and caring for a child who will die young."
