UK hospitals will separate patients by Sex assigned at birth
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The National Health Service in England will now place hospital patients in wards based on their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
The change comes after an April 2025 ruling by the UK Supreme Court clarifying that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act refer to biological sex. This reverses a 2019 policy that instructed hospitals to respect patients’ self-identified gender when assigning rooms.
NHS England will send letters to hospital organizations telling them to implement the new rules, which aim to address concerns raised by female patients and staff regarding privacy and safety. The decision followed a legal case in June 2026 where seven nurses were awarded £187,000 in damages after being subjected to harassment for objecting to sharing changing rooms with a transgender woman. While groups advocating for sex-based spaces welcomed the change, some expressed reservations about implementation.
Organizations supporting transgender rights have voiced concerns about potential impacts on access to care. The NHS is now tasked with applying the rules while simultaneously ensuring the safety, privacy, and dignified care of all patients.
