An LGBTQ+ group proposed plans for transgender NHS staff should be given extra breaks if they wore chest binders or needed a break from tucking their genitals away.
In a draft guidance report allegedly seen by The Telegraph, the LGBTQ+ staff network within the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust said its trans staff ‘may require extra scheduled breaks in their shift in order to have breaks from binding and tucking’.
If the move had been accepted it would reportedly have been a first for the health service who currently offer no advice for trans people who use the methods to appear less masculine or feminine.
Both practices are said to cause infections, inflammation and have been known to cause other painful health problems such as testicular torsion.
Trust bosses refused to implement the plan when it was suggested to them.
An extract from the proposed 15-page guidance titled, ‘Supporting transgender and non-binary staff’, reportedly read:
‘Please note that transgender staff who wear chest binders (an item of clothing that compresses the chest and creates a more masculine chest contour), or who tuck (a way of obscuring genitals in order to create a smoother, more feminine appearance) may require extra scheduled breaks in their shift in order to have breaks from binding and tucking.
‘Binding in particular can constrict breathing. If possible, provide a private space they are able to access in order to do so. It is helpful to have a conversation with the individual to understand if there are ways of presenting they wish to engage in that may require them to have extra breaks.’
The newspaper says that some of the trust’s LGBTQ+ staff put the document together last year.
A former employee at the trust said if made no sense to prioritise the needs of ‘one group of staff over everyone else’.
They added that other colleagues who suffer from heavy periods or may have to pray multiple times per day were not receiving such allowances.
Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at human rights charity Sex Matters, told the newspaper that the proposals ‘should never have made it onto paper, even as a draft’.
She said: ‘Tucking genitals and binding breasts are culturally motivated actions that cause permanent physical damage, just like breast ironing and the use of neck coils. The only difference is that self-harm in the name of trans identity is high status and fashionable.’
Ms Joyce added that the plans would have been ‘disgraceful coming from a healthcare body’ and that she was glad they had not been approved.
A Trust spokesperson told : “This draft paper is not Trust policy or guidance, it never has been, and never will be.
“A colleague submitted it to a manager in February, for consideration, but it was not accepted.”