The incorrect notion
Another pebble added to the pile, or piece of scaffolding removed [standard note that the source is the Daily Mail]:
Kate Grimes, a former chief executive of Kingston Hospital in South-West London, has joined a growing chorus calling on organisations to withdraw from the Stonewall scheme.
…
Ms Grimes accused Stonewall of ‘undermining’ the NHS’s ability to keep patients safe, ‘stifling’ free speech and creating a ‘culture of fear’ among some NHS staff.
And she warned [that] some advice risked ‘opening up NHS organisations to litigation and reputational damage’.
Ms Grimes recalled how she received offensive messages when she came out as a lesbian in the late 1980s, her pride at running one of the country’s leading HIV/AIDS services, and appreciation for Stonewall’s campaign for greater equality.
But she said the charity’s recent lobbying over trans issues had culminated in the ‘incorrect notion’ that a man who identifies as a woman is allowed by law to access female-only spaces. As a result, she added, female patients no longer have access to single-sex accommodation in wards and bathrooms.
‘The implications for patients are significant,’ she added. ‘Female patients are exposed to the distress and dangers of sharing private space with men at a time when they are vulnerable.’
And you know what? Female people should never be forced to share private space with men, even when they’re in perfect health and fully dressed. Private space is private, so it’s kind of definitional that no one should be forced to share it.
Ms Grimes [said]: ‘Hospital workers are losing their rights, enshrined in law, to separate bathroom and changing facilities. Anyone who speaks up may face disciplinary action, as policies are brought into line with Stonewall’s view.’
Who made Stonewall god? It turns out, no one.
I’ve had to share a ward with men, in different hospitals in different countries in different hemispheres. Fortunately, nothing worse than embarrassment happened (not that embarrassment is good, but I have read a great deal worse). I’m sure that none of the incidences had anything whatsoever to do with Stonewall, but were just a result of hospital staff in a pressured environment putting anyone in any bed which became vacant, and only considering th effect of mixed-sex wards whenever someone complained, forcing them to play musical beds.
In NZ public general admission hospitals, mixed sex wards are typical in my experience. Each ward is divided into a small number of single person rooms, and a number of four or six person rooms divided with curtains. It’s efficient and flexible. I’ve never run a cross it, but I suspect if someone was distressed about being in a mixed sex room some shuffling around would occur.
I’ve had a number of friends and family hospitalised over the years. None have ever complained or expressed discomfort or embarrassment at being in mixed rooms, mostly I think because staff generally are very good at looking out for patients privacy as much as is possible and the way the rooms are laid out would make misbehavior pretty quick to spot. That said, I can’t guarantee that nothing bad has never happened. I know when I was younger hospitals didn’t bother much about building security. There used to be multiple unlocked access points and no night-security. That changed after a spate of attacks/distressing encounters for female staff at night with intruders coming in side doors. Different situation again.
Would it be nice for every patient to have a separate room? Sure would. Is that practical with our health system? No. We’d have to divert so much money into buildings that actual health delivery would suffer. Plus, while the privacy would certainly improve, safety would not necessarily. There have been several cases in aged care facilities where women in single rooms in care facilities have been attacked (and at least one murdered) by male patients who were in advanced cognitive decline.
The NZ situation is a bit tangential to the situation being referred to above though. Most District Health Boards have at least one Women’s Hospital. These hospitals specialise in treating conditions that affect only women, as in natural women. So, essentially child birth and other reproductively related conditions and illnesses. In General hospitals all toilets are unisex and in all the facilities I’ve been in they are single person cubicals with heavy well-sealed doors that face straight onto busy places. There’s certainly no bullshit about forcing staff and other patients to pretend that black is white or else (although I’m sure TRA’s would love to change that).
Rob, that sounds horrifying to me. A lot of our hospitals have gone to single patient rooms, and that was a blessing. I have an extreme anxiety disorder about strangers (or even people I know) being in a setting much less vulnerable with me for an extended period of time, and in a hospital, it isn’t unusual that the patient is not able to do much of anything to help themselves. Most of my hospitalizations have been for surgeries, and I have not even been able to go to the toilet myself. When I have had roommates, they have always been women, and it has been nearly unbearable. The last three surgeries I had a private room, because our hospital went to all private. It was so much more inducive to recovery. I do realize the problems with space and buildings and so forth, but I don’t think I could stay on a ward without losing my sanity. Increase that by several orders of magnitude if there are males there.
I can appreciate your situation iknklast. Other than the usual grumbling about noisy wards and institutional food, the people I know have not had issues. I suspect that if someone with genuine anxiety cane along they would try and accommodate that with one of he few single rooms.
There aren’t that many single rooms in our public hospitals, which is most of our health care. The rooms that are singles are generally used for people who need to be isolated because of communicable diseases (especially antibiotic resistant ones) or who are deeply ill. My partner had one after she came out of ICU and my mother had one the last week of her life.
NZ is not a rich country, although we the aspirations of one. As a % of GDP we spend far less than the US on health care, but have better health outcomes. Many of our hospitals are old and no longer considered to be of adequate design. The Government is pouring billions into new and upgraded facilities, but the reality is that it will take decades to upgrade the buildings and private facilities for every patient will never be a thing here.
On the other hand, health care is close to free unless you need a cutting edge drug or esoteric surgery, which we can’t provide.