"Incorrectly gendered at hospital entry and exit"

I visited the St George Hospital COVID testing clinic in the morning recently to be tested as I had a sore throat.

I was seen very quickly and provided with all the information and forms necessary to undergo the test, the whole process took less than 10 minutes.

I am an RN working in another hospital, sometimes in the COVID clinic, and was very impressed with the ease with which everything happened. I will be suggesting improvements to our system based on the St George Clinic processes.

There was only one issue that I think requires addressing. I am a transgender woman and was very concerned at being misgendered by the door screener both on entry and exit. They called me Sir despite me clearly presenting as female. Every other staff member correctly gendered me without any issue. While I realise my voice is deep which causes issues when on the telephone, visually I am female.

Could you please provide some education about gender identity and the importance of correctly gendering people as, in my experience, it causes distress to those individuals?

I would like to commend the remaining staff who were very pleasant and efficient, providing an otherwise excellent service.