NHS workers are being threatened with disciplinary action or even prosecution if they mis-gender a trans or non-binary person.
Official guidance says that it is “oppressive” to use the wrong pronouns when referring to a patient.
Staff at various hospitals across the UK also must be cautious when gendering fellow employees.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS trust has said it expects all its staff to use a colleague’s new name if they have transitioned or come out as non-binary, adding: “Failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action under the Trust's disciplinary policy and/or prosecution.”
Some hospitals have provided a list of pronouns used by some people - These include ‘ze’, ‘sie’, ‘co’ and ‘ey’
PA
Similarly, the University Sussex NHS Foundation Trust warns: “Any members of staff who refuse to use the name, pronouns or gender deemed appropriate by another member of staff will be seen as acting in a harassing and/or discriminatory manner and may be subject to disciplinary procedures.”
Staff at NHS hospitals have also been told that if they do not have to worry about what pronouns people will assume they use, then they are “privileged”.
Guidance followed by both Sussex and Sheffield Foundation Trusts says: “When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, devalued, triggered, alienated, or often, all of these things.
“It is a privilege to not have to worry about which pronoun someone is going to use for you based on how they perceive your gender.”
Some ambulance trusts are also enforcing their workers to check what a person’s pronouns are before asking any other questions.
The Mail on Sunday revealed that 999 operators should ask callers what their pronouns are to avoid mis-gendering them by addressing them as sir or madam.
However, not everyone is so accepting of these new rules.
Lottie Moore, head of Biology Matters at think-tank Policy Exchange, said: “No one should be expected to say or believe someone is of the opposite sex, nor should they be expected to state their own pronouns.
“Compelled speech has no place within any public institution within a liberal democracy. Identity politics does not belong in healthcare.”
Some hospitals have provided a list of pronouns used by some people - These include ‘ze’, ‘sie’, ‘co’ and ‘ey’.
Meanwhile other hospitals have said that some patients prefer being called by their name only, with no reference to themselves in third person at all.
Staff should follow guidance as it "sets a tone of respect and allyship"
PA
A Freedom of Information Request obtained by the Mail showed that many NHS trusts also expect staff to announce their own pronouns when they meet their patients.
The guidance followed at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals says that using gender pronouns “sets a tone of respect and allyship”.
It admits that it may feel “awkward” initially but that’s better than getting someone’s pronouns wrong and “making a hurtful assumption”.
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust explains that a lack of a gender natural pronoun in the English language has made it hard for trans and non-binary people to feel accepted.
It said that “the dichotomy of ‘he and she’ in the English language does not leave room for other gender identities.
“This can be a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities,” it explained.
