Rights group Christian Concern has urged the British Medical Association (BMA) to reconsider its opposition to NHS England’s new single-sex guidance, warning that prioritizing gender identity over biological sex harms patients and penalizes healthcare workers.
The response follows a BMA statement opposing aspects of the new policy, which addresses the provision of single-sex hospital accommodation and facilities. The BMA is a trade union and professional association representing doctors in the U.K.
Christian Concern and its legal arm, the Christian Legal Centre, argued that the BMA’s position overlooks concerns raised in several legal cases involving healthcare workers, patients and educators.
“For well over a decade, we have been warning about the consequences of institutions abandoning the truth that human beings are male and female,” said Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern. “Through the Christian Legal Centre, we have stood alongside those who have paid a very real price for saying so.”
Williams described the BMA’s stance on the updated NHS guidance as “a profound failure of leadership,” adding that “women’s privacy and dignity deserve serious attention from the medical profession.”
Christian Concern cited several high-profile disputes involving the NHS, including a January 2026 tribunal ruling that awarded £187,000 in damages to seven female nurses who had been required to share changing facilities with a biological male at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. The tribunal found that the arrangement violated their dignity and created a degrading environment.
“The Darlington nurses should never have needed our help to take their employer to court to secure proper changing facilities,” Williams said.
The organization also highlighted the case of Jennifer Melle, a healthcare professional who faced disciplinary and regulatory proceedings after using male pronouns during a clinical discussion concerning a male prisoner. Williams said Melle “should never have endured such an ordeal over pronouns,” adding that the racist abuse and threats Melle experienced were compounded by the way she was treated. Regulators closed the investigation into Melle in July 2026, finding no case to answer.
Christian Concern also cited the case of Dr. David Mackereth, which involved legal challenges over the protection of religious beliefs about sex and gender under equality law. The group said it is currently supporting an unnamed consultant psychiatrist who has raised safeguarding concerns about biological males being placed in female psychiatric wards.
“Our Christian conviction is that every person is made in the image of God and deserves compassionate care,” Williams said. “That includes people who identify as transgender. Compassion requires honesty about the body, careful clinical judgment and respect for everyone affected.”
“The BMA must confront the harm caused by policies that subordinate biological reality to gender identity,” she added. “It should help restore confidence in the NHS by supporting lawful single-sex provision and defending staff who raise legitimate concerns.”
Christian Concern also referred to the U.K. Supreme Court’s April 2025 ruling that the term “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. The ruling did not remove the Act’s protections against discrimination for people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
Christian Concern is calling on NHS trusts to publish clear plans for implementing single-sex facilities, record biological sex accurately for clinical safety, and introduce national guidance to protect healthcare workers’ freedom of conscience and use of clinical terminology.
