NHS trust ‘putting Stonewall ideology over health’

A major NHS trust is awarding contracts based on points for adopting Stonewall ideology, a whistleblower has told The Daily Telegraph.

In a tender for a multi-million-pound contract to deliver stoma services at the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, leaked documents reveal bidders are questioned to determine their score against the Stonewall UK Workplace Equality Index.

In a 35-question document, five relate to the Stonewall index and are given equal importance to vital health questions.

‘Virtue signalling’

The whistleblower warned: “The outcome of this is the NHS might accept a tender from a company offering an inferior product or a higher price based on Stonewall membership.”

“I would like to find a way to draw this to people’s attention and hopefully return the NHS to putting people’s health ahead of virtue signalling and political campaigning.”

return the NHS to putting people’s health ahead of virtue signalling and political campaigning

Stonewall’s support for self-declared gender on single-sex wards and its backing of disputed puberty blockers for young people have raised concern from patient groups, clinicians and the Health Secretary.

Public sector exodus

Public sector organisations including the Crown Prosecution Service, Ofcom, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Department of Health have quit Stonewall’s diversity schemes in recent months.

However, six NHS bodies still feature in its “top 100 employers” list.

Harry Miller, of Fair Cop, the campaign group calling for impartiality in public services, said: “Service providers must be judged on the ability to provide a service not on their allegiance to a political lobby group.”