NHS mocked for ‘woke’ welcome banner with 21 genders and sexualities on it

The LGBTQ+ inclusion banner was unveiled at the Royal Stoke Hospital

NHS bosses have been criticised after displaying a banner featuring 21 genders and sexualities in a hospital reception.

The welcome banner at Royal Stoke Hospital showed flags representing groups who identify as “genderfluid”, someone who feels they have more than one gender; and “genderqueer”, those who don’t follow gender norms.

In 2022, a Telegraph NHS data tracker ranked the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust as one of the worst performing in the country, ranking 102 out of 120 trusts in England for overall performance against “key duties of care for its patient”’.

A patient at the hospital told The Sun: “Half of these flags and sexualities look like they were dreamt up on the back of a napkin.

“People are waiting months and even years for treatment but the NHS is more interested in woke pandering than taking care of patients it seems.”

The Gay Pride rainbow flag is seen alongside several more obscure identities including “agender”, a person who claims to have no gender. They appear under the slogan: “Everyone is welcome”.

The trust said the banner was a show of support to the LGBTQ+ community ahead of Pride month in June.

Patient form with 18 gender options

In January it was reported that NHS patients were being asked to choose from 159 religions, 12 genders and 10 sexual preferences before they attend hospital appointments.

It comes after the NHS faces increasing calls to stop “promoting woke ideology” after it was revealed that more than £13 million was being spent on more than 330 diversity roles across the UK.

Separately, Telegraph analysis from December revealed that NHS trusts were spending six-figure sums on “woke” diversity advisers only to see conditions worsen for the minority groups they were hired to help.

Among them was London’s King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with ten staff on combined salaries of £748,241.

Politicians and campaigners have questioned whether the taxpayer funds would be better spent elsewhere such as addressing healthcare equalities among patients.

University Hospitals of North Midlands was contacted for comment.

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