{"id":806478,"date":"2026-10-18T10:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/806478\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T10:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:20:10","slug":"aneurin-bevan-health-board-responds-to-woke-language-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/806478\/","title":{"rendered":"Aneurin Bevan Health Board responds to ‘woke’ language row"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Natasha Asghar, a Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd who represents Newport<\/a> and Islwyn, criticised Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for using terms such as “pregnant people”, “people who menstruate” and “people who were born with ovaries” in its health information materials.\n<\/p>\n

\n Ms Asghar said: “There is nothing offensive about the word ‘women’ and it is deeply worrying that it has been deliberately omitted from these documents.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Health bosses should have the confidence to use it where it is appropriate.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Patients want timely treatment, shorter waiting lists and faster care in A&E.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Aneurin Bevan University Health Board should cut waiting lists and drop the woke language.”\n<\/p>\n

\n She called on the health board to review its communications and use what she described as “plain, accurate language that recognises women”.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"NatashaMs Asghar is against the health board’s use of inclusive language (Image: Natasha Asghar)\n<\/p>\n

\n Ms Asghar said: “Every patient deserves respectful care, and that does not require describing women as ‘people who were born with ovaries’.”\n<\/p>\n

\n The health board defended its approach, saying its language is intended to be inclusive and reflect the needs of its diverse community.\n<\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is committed to ensuring everyone can access the healthcare they need, with dignity, respect and without discrimination.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Our health information is designed to be clear, accurate and inclusive, helping people understand their health and access appropriate care.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We don\u2019t consider this woke, we consider it to be respectful.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"TheThe Grange University Hospital (Image: NQ)\n<\/p>\n

\n “Where we use terms such as ‘pregnant people’ or ‘people who menstruate’, this reflects the fact that while these experiences predominantly relate to women, some transgender and non-binary people also require these services and information.\n<\/p>\n

\n “This approach does not diminish the importance of women\u2019s health or the language used to describe women.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Rather, it recognises that inclusive communication helps ensure nobody is inadvertently excluded from vital health information or discouraged from seeking care.”\n<\/p>\n

\n The spokesperson said inclusivity does not detract from the health board\u2019s priorities of reducing waiting times, improving access to services and delivering high-quality care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Natasha Asghar, a Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd who represents Newport and Islwyn, criticised Aneurin Bevan University…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":806479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-806478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}