Trans activists urge doctors to fight NHS data overhaul
Trans activists are urging NHS staff to campaign against plans to protect women by collecting data on sex and not gender.
They have posted on NHS England's LGBT intranet to implore doctors and nurses to show their 'allyship' by writing to their MP to oppose the proposed changes.
In a report last month, Professor Alice Sullivan said police forces and the NHS should collect data on biological sex rather than a person's self-declared gender identity.
Critics say that allowing public bodies to remove sex from statistical records compromises research into women's issues and makes it difficult for researchers to spot trends in rape cases, medical trials or gender pay gaps.
Professor Sullivan's review found that cancer referrals had been missed and previous convictions overlooked because biological sex was not being recorded.
The report was welcomed by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, who said having accurate data on sex was vital for patient safety.
But activists have described it as 'biased, inadequate and potentially harmful'.
'Demonstrate your allyship'
In a post on NHS England's LGBT network, one activist linked to a statement from the group TransActual which rejected the report.
The post said: 'Leading transgender organisation TransActual together with academics from the Feminist Gender Equality Network (FGEN) today rejected the conclusion of a report on data collection by academic Professor Alice Sullivan as biased, inadequate and potentially harmful to all citizens of the UK, whether trans or not.
'For allies within the network, now is the time to take action. Demonstrate your allyship by writing to your local MP and urging them to oppose the recommendations of the report.
'Encourage them to speak out against it within their party and advocate for a more inclusive approach.'
The activist then linked to TransActual's statement on the Sullivan Review, which claimed the idea that there are only two sexes is 'factually incorrect' and an 'incorrect dog-whistle assertion'.
It also said Professor Sullivan was a 'prominent anti-trans activist'.
Its strategy director, Keyne Walker, said: 'These recommendations would do nothing to support the Government's stated objectives regarding equality and diversity, nor on data use. It represents a deviation from the Government's stated position, and would be a U-turn should it be implemented.
'Worse, the experience of those working in the field suggests that far from improving data quality, the measures promoted by this report would make data collected on sex and gender far less reliable.
'The Sullivan Review is rooted in factually incorrect assertions about the binary nature of sex and gender and antipathy towards trans people, despite lip-service towards respect for diverse gender identities.
'The Review's recommendation for both sex and gender characteristics to be collected is presented as in the interest of the welfare of trans people.
'However, the recommendations would effectively mean that trans people have no right to privacy, likely breaching human rights law, as well as codifying the incorrect dog-whistle assertion that sex is binary and immutable.'
She went on: 'Despite its claims of impartiality, it was produced by leading members of an anti-trans campaign group and reflects their arguments.
'As such, it is an unsuitable basis for policymaking and we encourage DSIT to reject its findings entirely.'
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at women's rights charity Sex Matters, said the comments showed why Mr Streeting needed to 'get gender ideology out of the health service'.
She said: 'It is shocking to see an NHS England employee amplifying calls from a trans activist group to ignore the recommendations of the Sullivan report.
'This should be a wake-up call to the [Health Secretary] to get gender ideology out of the health service, for everyone's sake.
'Whether a patient is male or female is vital information in healthcare, but this lobby group wants the NHS to record falsehoods instead of facts in people's health records. This is not good for anyone. It's no longer credible to claim that trans activist demands are no threat to anyone else.'
A spokesman for NHS England did not comment on the campaign against the adoption of Prof Sullivan's recommendations.
He said: 'The NHS has written to GPs to ensure that they immediately stop the process of changing NHS numbers and gender markers for children and young people under 18, following the Sullivan review and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's direction.'
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