NHS staff told to ask men if they are pregnant before X-rays
Radiographers at multiple hospitals have been told they must check whether all patients aged 12 to 55 are pregnant, regardless of their sex, as part of inclusivity guidance.
The guidance was written after an incident in which a trans man who was unknowingly pregnant had a CT scan, and tells staff to be inclusive of transgender, non-binary and intersex patients by not making assumptions about people.
The radiation from X-ray, CT and MRI scans, as well as cancer treatments, can be dangerous to unborn babies, but forms designed to be inclusive have caused confusion and anger among patients and pose a risk to their safety, according to NHS staff.
Radiographers told this publication the measures had left men storming out of appointments and women in tears because of “invasive” fertility questions. They say patients are being asked to fill out pregnancy forms stating their sex at birth, preferred name and pronouns, and read “ridiculous” statements about people who are born with variations in sex characteristics.
Unnecessary risk for patients
Campaigners said the practice was “humiliating” for patients and called on NHS trusts to “return to common sense”.
One radiographer claimed a man on a two-week urgent cancer pathway “was so annoyed by the questions on the form, he shouted, he left the department and didn’t actually have a scan”.
“There is an unnecessary risk for these patients if they do get so annoyed and don’t have the scan.”
In another example, an inpatient requiring daily scans for a week after oesophageal surgery had “a sense of doubt” instilled by being asked daily whether he was a man at the radiology department.
Women have been left in tears by questions about their fertility, including having to explain why they could not be pregnant, while patients of all backgrounds have been affronted or embarrassed by the suggestion that their sex was not obvious, staff say.
“We’ve had women who have had terrible miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and we’re reminding them of that trauma,” a source said. “Instead of just asking ‘is there any chance you could be pregnant?’ and them choosing to say ‘no’, they’re now having to say, ‘I had two ectopic pregnancies, and I don’t have ovaries anymore’ and we then write that down.”
They also said the forms were “indoctrinating” children by asking under-18s their preferred names and pronouns, with parents “furious” about it.
The guidance tells staff “a patient should always be asked ‘What pronouns would you like me to use for you?’ and ‘How would you like to be addressed?’”
Society of Radiographers guidelines
The questions make up part of the “inclusive pregnancy status guidelines for ionising radiation” that were developed by the Society of Radiographers (SoR). The college encourages NHS radiology departments to use its form or create their own version.
Its guidance claims the proportion of British adults “identifying as trans or non-binary [is] as high as 4.5 per cent”, despite Office for National Statistic census data putting it at 0.5 per cent. It says a further 1.7 per cent of people are intersex, which is thought to be the situation with Olympic medal-winning boxers, Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, who purportedly have XY chromosomes, known also as differences of sex development (DSD).
It is not known how widespread their use is, but it is understood multiple hospitals in London, the North West and North East are using variations of the form.
Insiders claimed the SoR was “pushing a national rollout” and “keeps doing training sessions”, with the guidance “slowly creeping in” across NHS hospitals.
Dr Louise Irvine, a GP, said: “It should be possible for medical records to accurately record sex, as well as the patient’s preferred mode of address, pronouns etc.
“Given that it is impossible for anyone of the male sex to become pregnant, there is no need to ask male people if they might be pregnant, and thereby avoid a lot of embarrassment and upset. If someone identifies as transgender or non-binary, and their records indicate they are biologically female, then they can be respectfully asked about the possibility of pregnancy. The proposed radiography guidelines muddy the water by including so-called intersex conditions.”
NHS trusts must return to common sense and reality
Fiona McAnena, the director of campaigns at human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “The Society of Radiographers’ inclusion policy is among the worst examples of professional bodies losing their senses by prioritising ideology ahead of biological fact.
“Putting healthcare staff and male patients through this humiliating farce, with inclusivity pregnancy forms, questions on the likelihood of pregnancy, and enquiries about their pronouns, is both inappropriate and a shocking waste of time.
“The NHS trusts that have adopted this policy in their radiography units should immediately revoke it and return to common sense and reality.”
The materials were developed in collaboration with staff from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds Cancer Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Trans groups OUTpatients, Intersex Equality Rights UK and TransActual were also involved in the guidance, according to the SoR’s credits, while no groups representing women were involved.
The organisation has been “ideologically captured” according to members.
NHS England and the SoR were approached for comment.
