NHS staff have been told in mandatory training that it is unacceptable to say that you do not want to share toilets with transgender colleagues.
The training, introduced by NHS England in August, was titled “Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights Skills” and was required for all staff, including off-payroll workers.
A 23-page document included five case studies and multiple-choice questions to assess employees’ understanding of discriminatory behaviour.
One section, labelled “transphobic colleague”, stated that asking trans staff to use gender-neutral or disabled toilets could constitute illegal harassment.
It adds: “It is always an individual’s choice to use whichever facilities match how they identify.”
A concerned NHS worker, who shared the document with the Daily Mail, expressed feeling pressured to complete the training.
The whistleblower said: “Passing this training is required in order to progress your pay and career, and ultimately even to be employed by NHS England.
“For all the supposed commitment to ‘diversity’, if you don’t agree with the ideology of a dominant clique, you either have to lie or leave.”
The training document also said that “people, rather than women, become pregnant and take maternity leave”.
Another case study described a community nurse being reprimanded for offering to pray for a patient’s recovery, as it failed to demonstrate a commitment to equality and diversity.
The document explained that by promoting “equality and diversity”, the NHS “will bring great advantage to the workforce, the wider NHS and the population we serve”.
It added: “Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the values of NHS England.”
Women’s rights campaigners have criticised the training as “partisan and ideological”.
They have written to Amanda Pritchard, the NHS’s chief executive, calling for changes to be made.
Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, wrote in the letter: “The training in respect of sex, gender reassignment and belief discrimination conflicts with and in some places actively contradicts the law.
“It is partisan and ideological, and it puts NHSE at risk of undertaking mass discrimination and harassment.
“We call on you to recall and review the training to ensure that it is in line with the law and with your responsibilities under the public-sector equality duty and the Human Rights Act.”
The NHS has since withdrawn the module and said it will be replaced “in the next few weeks”.
An NHS spokesperson told the publication: “This guidance is out of date and has already been removed as new training is being developed.”
https://www.gbnews.com/news/nhs-staff-trans-colleagues-refuse-sharing-toilet-unacceptable