NHS trusts will be hit with “slam dunk” lawsuits for millions of pounds if they fail to protect single-sex female spaces, a lawyer warns.
It comes after a ruling that transgender females are not legally women.
Health bodies that fail to follow the Supreme Court judgment that a woman is defined by biological sex face sex discrimination cases and court action by staff and patients.
A leading health solicitor told The Sun: “If there are dozens of cases where the guidance is clear cut, the costs to the taxpayer, between damages, legal fees, and the time it will take, could spiral into the millions.”
He added there was little confidence the NHS could change its ways and legal action using the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision as a precedent would be a “slam dunk” — easy to win.
Barrister Rupert Myers added: “The NHS needs clear direction from the top and must move in no uncertain terms behind what the Supreme Court has said.
“They must embrace the legal clarity quickly.
“The people involved in implementing these decisions often have a less enthusiastic view of the decision than they ought to.
“The NHS often pays out when it has breached people’s rights, and lawyers’ fees can be very expensive.
“I can easily imagine that if trusts aren’t implementing the decision, millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money will be wasted if the HR departments of local NHS trusts don’t appreciate what this judgment means.”
Previous NHS guidance said trans staff on single-sex wards should be treated according to how they identify themselves.
In June, one group of female nurses worried about undressing in front of a trans colleague sued Darlington Memorial Hospital after being told they needed re-education.
After last week’s Supreme Court ruling, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, vowed to pursue the NHS if it did not update its policies.
The NHS said: “We appreciate the need for revised guidance on same sex accommodation.
“We’re working with the government to provide further guidance.”
- Knee-jerk policy changes in schools in response to the ruling should be opposed, the NASUWT teaching union said.