NHS: Single-sex Provision for Staff and Patients
Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I would indeed agree with the comments of my noble friend.
Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (CB)
My Lords, is the Minister considering any possible unintended consequences of this guidance? As a lesbian who is frequently told she is in the wrong toilets and who is addressed as “my Lord” and “sir” frequently around this place—which is always cute—does the Minister think there might be some unintended consequences for those who are not trans but perhaps do not fit the immediate, on-first-glance version of what a woman might look like? Perhaps we should let women determine their own sense of identity in these situations.
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I am sorry to hear of the noble Baroness’s experience, which I have heard her speak of before. To me, as I said earlier, it points to the need to treat people with respect, with dignity and without making assumptions. I cannot emphasise enough the need for sensitivity and respect, which applies to everybody.
While we are talking about changing facilities, we should think about the huge difference in shops over the years. There used to be communal changing rooms, but you would be hard pushed to find them now. People have private spaces for changing and this again applies to everybody. I recognise the challenge of the NHS estate, of course, but I am talking about creative solutions and working with staff to get to where we need to be.
Gender Identity Services: Children and Young People
Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green Excerpts(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Lord Markham (Con)
Yes. As I have said before, it is one of the privileges of this job that you learn about new areas, and I thank the noble Lord for his Question; this is something I have enjoyed being educated on in the last few days. I am very happy to meet with him. The points he makes are absolutely right: a lot of these people have other issues and going through puberty is a difficult time. So the lessons have been learned and we will make sure that they are implemented.
Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (CB)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his thoughtful reply to the Question and his curiosity about this subject area. I think that some issues and data that have just been shared are subject to debate and are not quite as substantial as has been suggested. When might the transition to these new services happen? At the moment, the young people on that waiting list have no knowledge of when they will be transitioning from the Tavistock to another service; there are those who have been waiting for an appointment since 2019, and four years is a very long time when you are a teenager, let alone when you are 43 and a half and a grown-up. We also know that that period is a very confusing time, so could we get some clarity for those young people on when they will be seen, by what service, and how quickly they will be able to get on to the system?
Lord Markham (Con)
The points are well made, and they are understood and accepted on this side. My understanding is that the northern and southern hubs, as recommended in the Cass review, have already been set up, so patients are being seen as we speak at the Great Ormond Street and Evelina centres, and a transition programme is being put in place for all those people who are currently there. I will happily pick up with the noble Baroness afterwards to discuss this further.