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Sir Keir Starmer has said his views on gender issues “start with biology” as he backed blocking trans women from female-only hospital wards and prisons.
It comes as the Government launched a consultation over plans to change the NHS Constitution in a move that could mean trans patients are treated in rooms on their own if patients request to be on single-sex wards.
Ministers claim the changes will “put patients first”, but the British Medical Association warned the proposed changes could mean transgender and non-binary patients could “potentially find their access to vital NHS services limited”.
Asked about the plans on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Sir Keir said: “There’s a distinction between sex and gender. The Labour Party has championed women’s rights for a very long time.”
Pressed on how Labour would respond to transgender women who did not want to go on to male hospital wards, he said: “We have to accommodate that situation as it arises but treat everybody with respect and dignity… I do not accept this is an issue that cannot be resolved with respect and dignity.”
He added: “Where we need to make accommodations, we can make accommodations… As a country, we’re a pretty reasonable tolerant bunch and most people know that there are a small number of individuals who do not identify with the gender that they were born into.
“Many of them suffer great distress and trauma. And for my part, I’m perfectly happy to say I would treat them, as I would treat anybody, with respect.”
The changes will also enshrine Martha’s Rule in the NHS Constitution in a bid to bolster patient safety.
Under the planned revisions, transgender people could be placed in a room on their own if another patient requests to be in a single-sex ward.
This would be permitted under the Equality Act 2010 when appropriate, “such as respecting a patient’s wish to be in a single-sex ward”, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
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In October, former health secretary Steve Barclay said he would look into changing the constitution to address concerns about trans women using wards intended for biologically female patients.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said the Government wanted to ensure that “biological sex is respected” in the NHS, adding that the term “woman” should not be “eradicated from our language in order to be inclusive and welcoming”.
She told Sky News: “We want to ensure that biological sex is respected and that if someone wants, for example, to have an intimate examination by a person of the same biological sex, then they can make that request and it is dealt with appropriately, and with respect and recognising that person’s right to privacy and dignity and safety.
“We do this because we know that sometimes it has been difficult in the past for staff to navigate some of those conversations.
“We just want to make it as clear as possible, both for patients and for staff, that people should be able to make these requests.”
The new document will also aim to ensure different biological needs are met, and that illnesses and conditions that impact men and women in different ways are communicated clearly to patients.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said “rights on paper are worthless unless they are delivered in practice”.
“The NHS Constitution already pledges that no patient will have to share an overnight ward with patients of the opposite sex, but that is not the case for too many patients,” he added.
“Labour supports single-sex wards and will provide the staff, investment and reform the NHS needs to make sure every patient can be cared for safely.”
Dr Emma Runswick, deputy chairwoman of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, warned some changes “run the risk of causing more harm than good – with the potential to incite further discrimination, harassment and ostracisation of an already marginalised group”.
“If these proposed changes come into effect, transgender and non-binary patients will potentially find their access to vital NHS services limited,” she added.
The NHS Constitution outlines the rights of patients and staff and is updated every 10 years.
Other proposed changes, which are subject to an eight-week consultation, include committing to providing families with a second opinion when a patient’s condition is deteriorating.