At long last.
NHS must reinstate ‘woman’ in cancer and pregnancy webpages, staff demand
The NHS must reinstate the word “woman” in its cancer and pregnancy webpages, more than a thousand staff in the health service have demanded.
Yes! Finally!
At least 19 women’s health pages on the NHS website fail to mention women either at all or in addition to non-gendered language, including for guidance on ovarian and uterus cancer, menopause, childbirth and heavy periods.
As if those items were gender-neutral.
So now around 1,200 doctors, nurses and health practitioners have said stop doing that, pointing out that it harms women.
The NHS online overview for womb cancer previously opened by referring to “the female reproductive system” that is “more common in women who have been through the menopause”, but the new version contains no reference to women or females.
Censored medical information. Brilliant move, yeah?
The clinicians’ letter, seen by The Telegraph, says: “Removal of sex-based language is discriminatory and could leave the NHS open to legal challenge… We call for the reinstatement of sex-based, respectful communication that meets the healthcare needs of women.
“Specifically, the NHS must use women’s words for women’s bodies and women’s health problems… NHS.UK healthcare messaging shows a lack of concern for women, is disrespectful and insults women.”
Thank you. That’s exactly what it does.
Dr Louise Irvine, a spokesman for the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender, told The Telegraph: “These changes have occurred by stealth across the UK, over the past couple of years. NHS communications exist to promote and support the health and wellbeing of the UK population, of which over half are women.“
Our guiding principle as clinicians is ‘first do no harm’ and yet these underhanded, ideologically-driven changes in the NHS, which trump evidence-based healthcare, carry real risks and impact real lives.”
That is heart-warmingly blunt.
An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS website provides information for everyone and we keep the pages under continual review to ensure they use language that is inclusive, respectful, and relevant to the people reading it.”
No they don’t. Of course they don’t. We all know they don’t. What an idiotically obvious lie.