SoR defends NHS Tayside against Daily Mail attack

The SoR has come out in support of the efforts of a Scottish NHS Board to promote inclusive pregnancy practice after a critical news storyin the Daily Mail.

The story accuses NHS Tayside (link) of being involved in “the latest woke language storm to engulf the NHS”.

A poster displayed in a Board hospital was reproduced on Twitter and prompted the Mail to raise questions about its appropriateness with the line: “Boys as young as 12 face being asked if they are pregnant”.

The poster is part of the Trust’s best practice guidelines and is being trialled at a small number of sites before being extended across the organisation.

The poster says: “It is our legal responsibility to establish whether there is a possibility of pregnancy before exposure to ionising radiation as a fetus is at a higher risk from the potential harmful effects”.

It adds: “Only people who have internal reproductive organs have the ability to become pregnant. We check this with each individual, and conduct a pregnancy check accordingly.”

As the policy applies to all patients between the ages of 12 and 55, the Daily Mail deduced that 12-year-old boys “undergoing cancer treatment” could be asked if they were pregnant and become upset as a result.

The SoR says the information in the poster is in line with its Inclusive Pregnancy Guidelines

Richard Evans, CEO at the SoR commented: “NHS Tayside is acting completely appropriately in agreeing an inclusive pregnancy inquiry process. This is designed to keep people safe and prevent irradiation of foetuses. The comments from the Daily Mail are unwarranted and display not only ignorance but also insensitivity to the needs of service users and the professionalism of healthcare staff.”

It is understood that the poster and associated information will be reviewed and updated by the patient information team at NHS Tayside to ensure it is compliant with visual accessibility in response to the concerns raised about this aspect of the poster.

NHS Tayside provides healthcare services in Angus, the City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross. It is headquartered at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.