Care homes that tell their residents they can change gender too

Pensioners who have always lived according to their birth gender can be trans, according to bizarre advice for care homes.

Taxpayer-funded guidance handed out to care home staff also tells them to ask new elderly residents: 'What pronouns do you use?'

They are directed to wear rainbow lanyards and pronoun badges and to never 'make assumptions' about a person's gender as they can 'switch identity'.

The 'handy guide' says: 'Educate yourself on what it means to be trans/non-binary', adding: 'Recognise that older people can be trans, even if they have lived their whole life as one gender.'

Managers are also urged to invite local LGBT+ organisations into their care homes and even to 'consider organising a drag queen bingo' for their elderly residents.

The guidance was produced as part of a research project that received more than £70,000 from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

It has already been distributed to care homes in East and West Sussex and is due to be handed out at the Care Show in Birmingham next month. The project, titled Creating Inclusive Residential Care for LGBTQ+ Elders (CIRCLE), is already implementing its 'Pride in Care programme' in five care homes across Sussex.

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It aims to provide 'practical tips on how to make your care more inclusive for LGBTQ+ older people'.

Care home staff are also directed to carry the guidance 'in your uniform or lanyard', put it on reception counters or 'put it in staff induction packs', and care homes should 'include visible imagery of the LGBTQ+ community'.

It also warns that: 'For LGBTQ+ residents with dementia, understand that people may forget/switch identity. Approach it day by day.'

Elaine Miller, a physiotherapist who specialises in women's health and works with the elderly, warned of the risk such a policy could pose when it comes to people with dementia.

She told the Daily Mail: 'The pressure this will put on care homes is enormous. The staff that work at these places really care about the residents and they are going to be put in an impossible position.'

She added that forcing such a policy on care homes has the 'potential to get very, very messy' and added: 'They're dropping in an ideological approach where it just doesn't belong.'

A care worker from Somerset, who is a member of the Women's Rights Network, also criticised the new guidance.

She said: 'What about other residents or their families, or even care staff, that might have gender-critical beliefs?'

The care worker added: 'We know that those are protected under equality act, so therefore nobody could be 'made' to use preferred pronouns.'

The guidance, issued this month, was developed by researchers from the University of Kent, in collaboration with the University of Surrey and the University of Hertfordshire, and produced with care home staff and elderly LGBT+ people.

The study was led by Dr Jolie Keemink, who said: 'There is an urgent need for improvements with regards to LGBTQ+ inclusion within care homes and we hope that this guide can play a useful role in this.'

The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment.