DUP MLA says 'gender ideology has no place in hospitals or society generally' as he calls on Northern Ireland to mimic trans proposals for NHS England

Upper Bann MLA Jonathan Buckley made the comments after news emerged of government efforts to re-jig the NHS Constitution to emphasise the importance of people’s biological sex, as opposed to their self-selected “gender identity”.

Mr Buckley called for similar changes to be brought into force in NI.

Mr Buckley, who held a public meeting last year to discuss the spread of transgenderism in schools (which he says was attended by up to 600 people, including 15 principals) said of the policy change: "Finally people are waking up and challenging the dangers of gender ideology."

He told the News Letter: "This is a victory for common sense. I believe it’s a very logicial position, and I think the vast majority of the public would see it as a logical position to take.

"Now we need to look at what procedures are being followed here in NI. There’s now questions on our own Department of Health to ensure they follow suit.”

He said “gender ideology” has “no place in hospitals, let alone in wider society” and that it had become "borderline ridiculous”.

“We need to understand there is clear terminology based on biological facts and evidence and allow doctors and our medical profession to deal with it on that basis,” he added.

"Anybody that has a desire to push upon hospitals wards or indeed doctors a lot of this ideological drive simply are missing the point of what they are there for.”

So what are the plans for the NHS Constitution?

The constitution is a like a charter of patients' rights which was first drawn up in 2009. But it is not legally binding, and it only applies to England.

The government is currently seeking to "update" it.

• GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE:

Though much of the media coverage today has led off on a plan to reinforce the existing NHS policy on single-sex wards (details below), there is another, more significant change proposed.

This concerns the use of "gender-neutral" language by the NHS, which in recent years has come to use phrases like "pregnant people" instead of "pregnant women", "people who menstruate" instead of "women who menstruate", and "chestfeeding" as opposed to "breastfeeding".

It has done this to keep in line with the beliefs of transgender activists, who hold that men can give birth, have periods, and suckle children.

The government's has now said: "If these biological differences are not considered or respected, there is the potential for unintended adverse health consequences. Language, therefore, is very important when communicating with patients.

"Patients may be unclear about whether a specific condition applies to them and may not come forward for treatment if language is ambiguous. Clear terms that everyone can understand should always be used."

More recent stories on transgenderism from this reporter at these links:

• Libraries Northern Ireland stocking transgender-themed titles aimed at toddlers and book advising teenagers how to use casual sex hook-up apps

• Queen’s University orders every single person on campus to comply with transgender names and pronouns or face punishment

• SAME-SEX WARDS:

When it comes to single-sex wards, the NHS constitution contains this pledge at the moment: "If you are admitted to hospital, you will not have to share sleeping accommodation with patients of the opposite sex, except where appropriate."

Now the government wants to replace it with the following text: "If you are admitted to hospital, you will not have to share sleeping accommodation with patients of the opposite biological sex, except where appropriate."

In other words, the government is emphasising that what should count when deciding where to put patients is whether they were born male or female, and not whether they have since announced they are the opposite gender (or some new gender altogether).

Since this would just be a change in emphasis, not a new rule, the change is unlikely to have much material effect.

However it is in keeping with a change of tone from within the Tory party over the past year or so on transgenderism; having previously supported trans activists' demands (such as the call to make it easier to legally switch gender, and to make "conversion therapy" a crime), the Conservative top brass are now voicing scepticism.