We welcome the NMC response to WPUK and recognise the care they have taken over it.
However, our first reaction is one of disappointment. The NMC has responded as an employer rather than as a regulator and has missed an opportunity to reassure registrants of its understanding of the conflicts of rights they are facing in every day practice. The NMC make no reference to the mounting pressure nurses and midwives face when being expected to balance Stonewall's Self ID policy demands and women's legally protected rights to single sex spaces. In their reply they do not provide any guidance for their registrants on this difficult subject, rather their support for Stonewall is affirmed.
We find this unhelpful, given the increasing pressures faced in practice and the growing number of reports we are receiving from registrants and patients. The most recent case being from a survivor of abuse who faced an early discharge after raising concerns. The NMC statement does nothing to assist nurses who are trying to protect patient’s rights in conflicting situations and the consequences are, and will continue to be, faced by a profession trying to protect vulnerable female patients.
In the interests of equality, fairness and justice the regulator must engage with these difficult issues. We will continue to work towards this.