Single-Sex Provision in Belfast Trust
Dear Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland),
The Department of Health, in response to the following FOI, have said they do not hold the information and these questions should be directed to each of the individual Trusts:
1. Is there guidance in place to ensure that the HSC provides single-sex (ie biological, natal sex) wards, changing rooms, and toilets throughout the HSC estate?
Please share any such guidance including consultations and Section 75 assessments, including any specific reference to provision for a patient or staff member claiming a ‘trans identity’,
i) without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)
ii) or with a GRC.
2. Where a patient requests care provision by a staff member of the same (biological) sex,
i) What guidance is in place for responding to such a request?
ii) What guidance covers a situation where a staff member of the opposite (biological) sex claims to be of the same sex (ie claims to be a woman but is biologically male, or vice versa), but does not hold a GRC?
iii) What guidance covers a situation where a staff member of the opposite (biological) sex claims to be of the same sex (ie claims to be a woman but is biologically male, or vice versa), and does hold a GRC?
Please share anonymised copies of any policies, guidance documents, or correspondence relating to this matter, including Section 75 assessments.
3. If a person requests accommodation in a ward that does not match their biological, natal sex, is this facilitated:
i) If they do not hold a GRC?
ii) If they do hold a GRC?
Please share anonymised copies of any policies, guidance documents, or correspondence relating to this matter, including Section 75 assessments.
4. How are staff advised to respond if a patient complains about a person of the opposite (biological) sex in their ward,
i) if that trans-identified person does not hold a GRC?
ii) if they do hold a GRC?
Please provide any written guidance or a response from the Trusts detailing the approach to be used in such situations.
5. Please share any (anonymised) correspondence / documents relating to the toilet provision in the recent refurbishment of the Belfast Cancer Centre foyer, which replaced single-sex toilets with unisex toilets, including any consultation documents or S 75 assessment.
If necessary, question 5 may be treated as a separate FOI request.
Yours faithfully,
Ann Black
Thank you for your email to Belfast Trust Public Liaison Service. Due to
the significant impact of the Coronavirus situation, Trust staff are
working to prioritise their duties as front line health and social care
workers and regrettably there may be a delay in responding to your email
at this time. Please note however, that any urgent queries will be
forwarded to the relevant service for their attention. Thank you for your
understanding and patience at this difficult time.
ANN BLACK
FOI ENQUIRY RE: SINGLE - SEX PROVISION IN BELFAST TRUST
Thank you for your request for information received on 9 March 2022 which
we are dealing with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
Further clarification may be required to ensure your request is dealt with
appropriately and if this is the case we will contact you again.
Under Freedom of Information guidelines a response should be provided by 7
April 2022.
For more information about the legislation and our procedures for dealing
with requests for information please refer to our website:
www.belfasttrust.hscni.net.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me and remember
to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
FOI RESPONSES DISCLOSURE LOG
The information you require may already be available on our Trust website.
We have published responses to previous requests for information on our
FOI responses disclosure log which can be accessed via link below:
https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/about/acc...
Please let us know if you find the information here and no longer require
us to provide you with an individual reply.
Kate Webster
Public Liaison Administrator
Kate Webster
Communications Office
Public Liaison Service
Nore Villa
028 9504 6584
Email: [email address]
ANN BLACK
FOI ENQUIRY RE: SINGLE - SEX PROVISION IN THE CANCER CENTRE BELFAST TRUST - QU 5 only
Thank you for your request for information received on 9 March 2022 which we are dealing with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Further clarification may be required to ensure your request is dealt with appropriately and if this is the case we will contact you again.
Under Freedom of Information guidelines a response should be provided by 7 April 2022.
For more information about the legislation and our procedures for dealing with requests for information please refer to our website: www.belfasttrust.hscni.net.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me and remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
FOI RESPONSES DISCLOSURE LOG
The information you require may already be available on our Trust website. We have published responses to previous requests for information on our FOI responses disclosure log which can be accessed via link below:
https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/about/acc...
Please let us know if you find the information here and no longer require us to provide you with an individual reply.
Kind regards
Lorraine
Lorraine O’Kane
Public liaison officer
TEL: 028 95046359
Dear Ann
FOI REQUEST RE: Single-Sex Provision in Belfast Trust
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received on 09 March
2022. Our response is now attached for your information. Question 5 when
response is completed to follow.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request has been handled you may wish to complain. You should
contact Public Liaison Services, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Health Care
Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH or alternatively e-mail:
[1][email address] within two months of the date of
this response and your complaint will be considered and a response
provided usually within 20 working days of receipt.
Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome, you can proceed to the
second review stage by contacting the Information Commissioner, The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review. It is important to note
that if you refer any matter to the Information Commissioner, you will
need to show evidence of having gone through the Trust’s review process to
try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the first instance.
If you require any further information or wish to discuss, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Lorraine
Lorraine O’Kane
Public liaison officer
TEL: 028 95046359
Dear PublicLiaison-SM,
I specifically asked about single-SEX provision because 'gender' is used interchangeably to mean sex or a putative 'gender identity' (the latter being a contested term). Your answers talk about 'gender' and 'gender identity', and thus do not answer the questions. Please respond to the questions about single-sex provision as asked.
Yours sincerely,
Ann Black
Dear Ann
Please find the completed response to your FOI request now including Qu 5
I have received your email earlier today saying you are not satisfied with
our response to the first four questions which you received yesterday.
‘I specifically asked about single-SEX provision because 'gender' is used
interchangeably to mean sex or a putative 'gender identity' (the latter
being a contested term). Your answers talk about 'gender' and 'gender
identity', and thus do not answer the questions. Please respond to the
questions about single-sex provision as asked.’
Before we look into this could you please come back to us with your
comments on the completed FOI response, in case you have anything further
Kind regards
Lorraine
Lorraine O’Kane
Public liaison officer
TEL: 028 95046359
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From: OKane, Lorraine On Behalf Of PublicLiaison-SM
Sent: 06 April 2022 15:55
To: Ann Black <[FOI #842872 email]>
Subject: RE: 26828 - Freedom of Information request - Single-Sex Provision
in Belfast Trust
Dear Ann
FOI REQUEST RE: Single-Sex Provision in Belfast Trust
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received on 09 March
2022. Our response is now attached for your information. Question 5 when
response is completed to follow.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request has been handled you may wish to complain. You should
contact Public Liaison Services, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Health Care
Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH or alternatively e-mail:
[5][email address] within two months of the date of
this response and your complaint will be considered and a response
provided usually within 20 working days of receipt.
Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome, you can proceed to the
second review stage by contacting the Information Commissioner, The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review. It is important to note
that if you refer any matter to the Information Commissioner, you will
need to show evidence of having gone through the Trust’s review process to
try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the first instance.
If you require any further information or wish to discuss, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Lorraine
Lorraine O’Kane
Public liaison officer
TEL: 028 95046359
Dear PublicLiaison-SM,
As per my above reply, the responses provided were not responses to questions I asked. Whereas I asked about single-sex provision, the responses talked 'gender', quoting guidance that uses 'sex', 'gender' (undefined), and 'gender identity' (which is an untestable claim about a personal feeling about oneself, often at odds to reality), interchangeably.
I raised the FOI to ask specific questions about your guidance and policies around single-sex provision, being clear to define the understood meaning of 'sex' as being a biological reality. Please respond to my questions as asked.
Yours sincerely,
Ann Black
Hi Ann
SINGLE-SEX PROVISION IN BELFAST TRUST
Thank you for your email dated 11 April 2022 requesting an internal review
into our response to the above FOI request.
We hope to get back to you with the outcome within 20 working days.
Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks
Cathy Shaw
Communications & FOI Manager
Corporate Communications
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
Direct Tel: 028 9504 6609
Team Tel: 028 9504 5888
Dear Ms Black,
Following your email received on 11 April 2022, requesting an internal
review, please find attached our response to the above FOI.
If you have any queries regarding this letter please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Kind regards,
Anne
Anne Young
Senior Communications Manager
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
Tel: 028 9504 6682
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