Militant doctors' union criticises NHS single-sex guidance and backs hospitals allowing trans women on to female wards

The militant doctors' union has rejected new NHS guidance that protects women-only spaces, claiming it is 'exclusionary to trans and non-binary staff and patients'.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said it is ‘deeply concerned’ by the rules that say hospitals must stop letting transgender women on to female wards.

Women's rights groups have welcomed the guidance but warned that some trusts could continue to flout the law, spurred on by activist staff.

The BMA criticised the rules on Wednesday and said it supports trans staff and patients accessing NHS accommodation and services ‘according to their gender’, rather than their biological sex.

The doctors' union, which has unleashed 15 rounds of strikes in the past three years, demanded that any hospitals revising their policies must do so ‘in collaboration with trade unions and the trans and non-binary workforce’.

The BMA added: ‘We are calling for urgent clarity from NHS England on how employers can implement the guidance in a way that is safe and inclusive of trans and non-binary people.’

Maya Forstater, chief executive of sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, criticised the BMA’s stance.

She said: ‘Comparing clear NHS guidance with “transphobia" is a sign of just how far activists at the BMA have gone from their medical training and their pledge to do no harm.’

Under the guidance, patients must be accommodated according to their biological sex and staff must use single-sex changing rooms and toilets that align with the sex they were born.

The changes follow the Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, and subsequent guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The guidance applies to acute, mental health and community NHS trusts as well as NHS-funded patients in private settings, but not A&E departments, urgent treatment centres or paediatrics.