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CH92-Gender-Inclusive Care Policy

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Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

Gender-Inclusive Care Policy

1. Purpose

This policy establishes {{org_field_name}}’s commitment to providing safe, lawful, equitable, respectful and person-centred care to every person using the service. People will be treated with dignity and respect regardless of sex, gender reassignment, gender identity or expression, and care will be planned and delivered in accordance with each person’s individual needs, preferences, wishes, rights and protected characteristics.

{{org_field_name}} will comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, including Regulation 9 (Person-Centred Care), Regulation 10 (Dignity and Respect), Regulation 11 (Need for Consent), Regulation 13 (Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment) and Regulation 17 (Good Governance).

For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, sex and gender reassignment are separate protected characteristics. The protected characteristic of gender reassignment applies to a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process, or part of a process, for the purpose of reassigning their sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex. Medical treatment, surgery or a Gender Recognition Certificate is not required for a person to meet this definition.

Where this policy uses wider terms such as “gender identity”, “gender-diverse”, “trans” or “non-binary”, those terms are used to support respectful and person-centred practice. Their use does not alter the definitions of the protected characteristics contained in the Equality Act 2010.

{{org_field_name}} recognises that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, “sex”, “woman” and “man” are interpreted in accordance with biological sex, following the judgment of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 and the current statutory Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations. This does not remove or reduce the legal protection from discrimination or harassment because of gender reassignment.

People will be supported to express their identity and preferences and to be addressed in the manner they prefer, subject to any lawful requirements relating to accurate clinical, legal, safeguarding or other necessary records. Personal information will be handled confidentially and only shared where there is a lawful basis or other lawful justification for doing so.

Care must not be provided in a discriminatory, degrading or disrespectful manner. Decisions affecting a person’s care must be individualised, evidence-based and proportionate, and must take account of the rights, safety, privacy and dignity of the person and, where relevant, other people using the service.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all individuals associated with {{org_field_name}}, including:

All employees, including care workers, administrative staff, and management. Staff at all levels must be aware of their responsibilities in upholding gender-inclusive care, promoting dignity, and preventing discrimination.

People we support, ensuring that they are treated with respect, that their gender identity is recognised, and that their care is personalised to meet their specific needs and preferences.

Visitors, including family members, advocates, and friends of the people we support. This policy applies to their interactions within the care home to maintain a culture of respect and inclusion.

External contractors, service providers, and volunteers who work within the care home environment. They are expected to follow the same standards of gender-inclusive practice as internal staff.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

{{org_field_name}} will deliver care in accordance with the legislation and regulatory requirements applicable to adult social care services in England.

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 establish the legal framework within which the service is regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

Regulation 9 (Person-Centred Care) requires care and treatment to be appropriate, meet the person’s needs and reflect their preferences. People must be involved, or enabled to participate as fully as possible, in decisions concerning their care and treatment.

Regulation 10 (Dignity and Respect) requires people using the service to be treated with dignity and respect. This includes respecting privacy, supporting autonomy and independence and having due regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010. People should be addressed in the way they prefer, and every reasonable effort must be made to respect their preferences concerning the person providing intimate or personal care.

Regulation 11 (Need for Consent) requires care and treatment to be provided only with the consent of the relevant person. Where a person aged 16 or over lacks capacity to consent to a particular care or treatment decision, the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 must be followed. Capacity must be considered in relation to the particular decision at the particular time and must not be assumed to be absent because of a person’s gender identity, gender reassignment, communication needs, disability, diagnosis, appearance, behaviour or personal choices.

Regulation 13 (Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment) requires people to be protected from abuse and improper treatment. Discriminatory abuse, harassment, degrading treatment or other abuse connected with a person’s sex, gender reassignment or perceived gender identity must be recognised and responded to in accordance with safeguarding procedures.

Regulation 17 (Good Governance) requires the service to maintain securely accurate, complete and contemporaneous records concerning each person and their care and treatment. Records concerning a person’s preferred name, pronouns, sex, gender reassignment, relevant health needs and care preferences must therefore be recorded only where relevant and must be accurate, appropriate, up to date and accessible only to people who are authorised to access them.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the provision of services. Sex and gender reassignment are separate protected characteristics under the Act. A person does not need to have undergone medical treatment or surgery or obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate to have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment where they otherwise meet the statutory definition.

For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, “sex” means biological sex. Where {{org_field_name}} provides a genuinely separate-sex or single-sex service, facility or arrangement, it will ensure that the arrangement is lawful under the Equality Act 2010, is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim where the legislation requires this, and appropriately considers the rights and needs of all affected people. Any restriction, limitation or modification affecting a trans person’s access must also be considered under the gender reassignment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and must be lawful and proportionate.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides additional confidentiality protection in specified circumstances for information concerning a person’s application for a Gender Recognition Certificate and, where applicable, information concerning their gender before obtaining a full Gender Recognition Certificate. Staff who acquire such protected information in an official capacity must not disclose it unless an exception permitted by law applies.

The Human Rights Act 1998 must be taken into account where applicable, including rights relating to private and family life, dignity, autonomy and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment. Decisions must respect the person’s human rights while appropriately balancing the rights of other people where those rights are also engaged.

4. Managing Gender-Inclusive Care

4.1. Respect for Gender Identity and Expression

Staff must treat each person with dignity and respect and must ask, where appropriate, how the person wishes to be addressed. A person’s preferred name and pronouns must be recorded where this is relevant to the delivery of person-centred care and must normally be used in day-to-day communication with that person.

Deliberate, targeted or repeated use of language intended to humiliate, intimidate, harass or degrade a person because of gender reassignment, sex or perceived gender identity will not be tolerated and must be addressed in accordance with the circumstances, including through safeguarding, complaints, conduct or disciplinary procedures where applicable.

Respect for a person’s preferred name and pronouns does not remove the requirement to maintain accurate, complete and contemporaneous records. Where information about biological sex, legal identity, previous identity, anatomy, medicines, clinical history or another matter is necessary for safe care, treatment, safeguarding, legal compliance or another legitimate purpose, the relevant information must be recorded accurately and handled sensitively and confidentially.

Information about a person’s gender reassignment or gender history must not be shared merely because another person is curious or requests the information. Access and disclosure must be limited to circumstances in which the information is relevant and there is a lawful basis or other lawful justification for its use or disclosure.

Where information constitutes protected information under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, staff must comply with the specific statutory restrictions on its disclosure. Such information must not be disclosed unless the person has agreed to the disclosure or another statutory exception permits it.

People must be given reasonable opportunities to tell the service if their preferred name, pronouns or relevant care preferences change. Appropriate records and care plans must be reviewed and updated without unnecessary delay while preserving any information that must lawfully or clinically remain within the record.

Staff must not make assumptions about a person’s care needs, sexual orientation, anatomy, medical history, capacity, relationships or personal preferences solely because the person is trans, non-binary, gender-diverse or has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

4.2. Person-Centred Gender-Inclusive Care Planning

Assessment and care planning must be person-centred and must take account of information that is relevant to the person’s needs, wishes, preferences, safety, dignity, privacy, communication and wellbeing.

A person must be given an appropriate opportunity to discuss relevant matters concerning gender reassignment, gender identity, preferred forms of address, personal care, clothing, grooming, relationships, privacy, accommodation and healthcare where these matters affect the care or support they require. A person must not be pressured to disclose information that is not necessary for their care or for another lawful purpose.

Care plans must record relevant preferences and needs accurately and sensitively. They must identify any agreed actions or reasonable arrangements required to provide safe, respectful and person-centred care.

Where a person’s health needs include prescribed hormone treatment or other clinically authorised treatment connected with gender reassignment, staff must support the person to access and receive that treatment in accordance with the person’s care plan, the prescriber’s instructions, medicines management arrangements and the person’s consent. Care staff must not initiate, discontinue, alter or make clinical decisions about such treatment outside their professional role or authority.

Consent must be obtained for care and treatment in accordance with Regulation 11. A person’s capacity to make a particular decision must be presumed unless it is established otherwise. Where there is reason to doubt capacity, capacity must be assessed in relation to the specific decision and at the time the decision is required.

Where a person lacks capacity to make a particular care or treatment decision, staff must follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005, including its statutory principles and best-interests requirements. A lack of capacity to make one decision must not be treated as a lack of capacity to make other decisions, and staff must not make assumptions about capacity because of gender reassignment or gender identity.

Family members, friends or advocates must not automatically be given confidential information concerning a person’s gender reassignment, gender identity, medical treatment or history. Where the person has capacity, information may be shared with others with their consent or where another lawful basis permits disclosure. Where the person lacks relevant capacity, involvement and information sharing must comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, confidentiality requirements and any lawful authority held by another person.

Where a person has substantial difficulty being involved in decisions and the statutory requirements for independent advocacy are met, staff must support access to the appropriate advocacy arrangements and make any required referrals or contact the responsible body.

4.3. Privacy, Dignity and Accommodation

Privacy and dignity must be protected when making arrangements for bedrooms, bathrooms, toilets, changing facilities, personal care and other situations in which people may be undressed or particularly vulnerable.

The service must distinguish between facilities that are genuinely separate-sex or single-sex and facilities that are mixed-sex or provided for individual use. A facility must not be described or operated as a single-sex facility unless its operation is consistent with the Equality Act 2010.

Where bathrooms, toilets, changing facilities, accommodation or another facility are genuinely designated separately for women and men on the basis of sex, the service must apply the current legal meaning of sex under the Equality Act 2010. The service must also consider the effect of the arrangements on people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment and whether any restriction, limitation or modification is lawful and proportionate.

Where reasonably practicable, individually enclosed facilities that can be used privately by any person may be made available in addition to any lawful separate-sex facilities. A person must not be left without reasonable access to essential toilet, washing or hygiene facilities as a result of arrangements concerning sex or gender reassignment.

No person must be humiliated, publicly challenged or required to disclose private information about gender reassignment or gender history in front of other people when accessing facilities. Any issue concerning the use of a facility must be managed discreetly, respectfully and, where appropriate, through an individual discussion and documented risk or equality assessment.

Bedrooms and shared sleeping accommodation must be allocated in a manner that protects people’s safety, privacy, dignity and rights. Where sleeping accommodation is genuinely communal accommodation within the Equality Act 2010, the applicable statutory rules concerning sex and gender reassignment must be followed.

Where a decision concerning communal accommodation affects a person because of gender reassignment, the service must consider the person’s individual circumstances, the needs and rights of other residents, whether reasonable alternative arrangements are available and whether the proposed arrangement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Blanket decisions based solely on a person’s trans status must not be made.

People’s preferences concerning accommodation must be sought and recorded, but preferences cannot override the service’s obligations to protect the rights, privacy and safety of other people or to comply with the Equality Act 2010.

Staff must knock and, unless immediate entry is necessary to protect life, health or safety or another lawful reason applies, wait for permission before entering a person’s private bedroom or other private space. Doors, curtains and screens must be used appropriately during personal and intimate care.

A person’s clothing, grooming items and personal possessions must be treated respectfully. Restrictions must only be imposed where they are lawful, necessary and proportionate, for example where there is an identified safety risk that cannot reasonably be managed in a less restrictive manner.

4.4. Personal Care and Support

Personal and intimate care must be delivered in a manner that protects the person’s dignity, privacy, safety and autonomy and takes account of their individual preferences and protected characteristics.

The person’s care plan must identify relevant preferences concerning intimate or personal care, including any preference for care to be provided by a staff member of a particular sex. Staff must make every reasonable effort to respect such preferences.

A preference for a staff member of a particular sex must be considered individually. The service must take account of the person’s dignity, privacy, trauma history, religious or cultural requirements, communication needs and other relevant circumstances, together with staffing availability, safety and the rights of staff and other people.

The service must not guarantee that a staff member of a particular sex will always be available unless such an arrangement can safely and lawfully be maintained. Where a person’s preference cannot be met on a particular occasion, staff must discuss available alternatives with the person wherever practicable and must avoid unnecessary exposure, embarrassment or distress.

Consent must be sought before personal or intimate care is provided and must be treated as an ongoing process. A person who has capacity may refuse or withdraw consent. Where a person lacks capacity to make the relevant decision, staff must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the person’s applicable care plan and best-interests decision.

A trans, non-binary or gender-diverse person must receive the same standard of safe, respectful and person-centred personal care as any other person. Staff must not refuse, delay, provide a lower standard of care or subject a person to degrading treatment because of gender reassignment or perceived gender identity.

Care plans must contain the information staff genuinely need to provide safe personal care, including any relevant anatomical, continence, skin care, catheter, stoma, medicine or other clinical information. Such information must be documented sensitively, accurately and confidentially and must only be accessed or shared by people who have a legitimate need for it.

Where a person receives prescribed hormones or other clinically authorised treatment connected with gender reassignment, staff must support safe access and administration in accordance with the person’s prescription, medicines policy, clinical instructions, consent and care plan. Concerns regarding treatment must be referred to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

4.5. Staff Training and Awareness

All staff members must receive mandatory training on gender inclusivity, which will cover topics such as understanding gender identity and expression, the importance of using correct pronouns, how to challenge discrimination or bias, and legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Regular refresher training and awareness workshops will be provided to ensure that staff maintain up-to-date knowledge on gender-inclusive care.

A zero-tolerance policy will be enforced against discrimination or inappropriate behaviour. Any breaches will be addressed through formal disciplinary procedures.

4.6. Managing Discrimination and Safeguarding Gender-Diverse Individuals

Discrimination, harassment, victimisation, bullying, degrading treatment and abuse connected with a person’s sex, gender reassignment or perceived gender identity must not be tolerated.

Staff must distinguish between an equality or conduct concern and a safeguarding concern. Not every disagreement, mistake or isolated instance of incorrect terminology will constitute safeguarding abuse. However, behaviour that is deliberate, repeated, threatening, humiliating, degrading, coercive, discriminatory or otherwise causes or creates a risk of abuse or harm must be responded to in accordance with the seriousness and circumstances of the incident.

Where abuse or improper treatment is suspected, disclosed, witnessed, discovered or reported, staff must take appropriate action without delay in accordance with the service’s safeguarding procedures. This includes taking immediate action to protect the person where necessary, reporting the concern internally and making referrals or notifications to the appropriate external authority where required.

Safeguarding responses must take account of the person’s views, wishes, feelings and beliefs wherever possible. The person’s gender reassignment or gender identity must not be used to dismiss, minimise or discredit a safeguarding concern.

Where an allegation concerns discriminatory abuse or harassment by another resident, staff must protect the person at risk while also considering the needs, capacity, communication, health conditions and rights of the person whose behaviour has caused concern. Appropriate risk assessment, care planning and proportionate interventions must be used.

Where discriminatory or abusive behaviour is alleged against a member of staff, volunteer or contractor, the matter must be managed through safeguarding and employment or contractual procedures as applicable. Any requirement to refer an individual to the Disclosure and Barring Service or a professional regulator must be considered in accordance with the relevant legal criteria.

Visitors and relatives are expected to behave respectfully towards people using the service and staff. Where a visitor’s behaviour amounts to harassment, abuse, intimidation or creates a risk to a person’s safety or wellbeing, the service must take proportionate action to protect those affected. Any restriction on visiting must also comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and must not be imposed solely because a visitor expresses a lawful opinion or belief.

Records of incidents, safeguarding concerns, decisions, actions and outcomes must be accurate, proportionate, confidential and sufficiently detailed to demonstrate the action taken to protect the person and comply with safeguarding and governance requirements.

4.7. Communication and Engagement

Gender-inclusive language must be used in all written materials, signage, and communications within the care home. Staff must be trained to actively listen and support individuals in expressing their gender identity without judgment.

Advocacy services and peer support should be available for those requiring additional gender-related support.

5. Related Policies

This policy aligns with and should be read alongside:

6. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if legislative updates or feedback indicate a need for improvement.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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