Sexuality is a private matter

THANK goodness, some sanity after the madness earlier this week when it was suggested that doctors would have to quiz all patients about their sexuality.

The College of Medicine has warned that doctors will simply refuse to ask patients due to fears it will damage the doctorpatient relationship.

The NHS has claimed that it won’t affect treatment in any way, in which case, why ask?

It’s intrusive and another example of the insidious invasion by the State into our private lives.

We already give away vast amounts of information about ourselves to both the government and private companies, and it astonishes me how compliant we are when, in living memory, some states have used this kind of information against their citizens.

Have we learned nothing from history? Most importantly it risks alienating patients and forcing them to give false information.

These sorts of plans are cooked up by a metropolitan elite who can’t get it into their heads that not every gay person is draped in a rainbow flag dancing to Kylie.

Some people live in deeply homophobic communities and asking them if they’re gay before they’re ready to give up that information will damage the doctor-patient relationship.

I am gay and I know that coming out is a personal decision people make when they feel comfortable: you can’t force this.

It’s also insulting to doctors — credit us with the ability to judge the situation ourselves about asking for such information without issuing diktats.

I’m not going to change my practice: if you want to tell me you’re gay or straight that’s fine but I’m not going to ask you simply to tick a box on an equality form.