An ambulance service staff network has told its members that it is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally women, GB News can reveal.

The LGBT+ Staff Network for the South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust issued a bulletin to all staff that said the ruling will impact an “already marginalised community.”

The bulletin, seen exclusively by GB News, concedes that judges explained how trans people are still protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

But it went on to say that “simply by passing this ruling it becomes more difficult to enforce these protections due to the changed legal definition”.

A copy of the bulletin sent to SWASFT's LGBT+ staff network

The reaction came after judges in Britain's most senior court unanimously ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 referred to sex not gender.

The staff bulletin also included a signature from the trust’ women’s network and a formal signature from the overall trust.

The trust said: “Now more than ever, trans people need great allies.”

It added: “and remember, transition is more than just a medical process, for some people, it is not medical at all.”

A stock image of ambulances queued up outside a control room

The trust's statement refers staff "affected by this ruling" to several organisations, including the trans youth charity Mermaids, which a Charity Commission inquiry last year revealed was not governed to sufficient standards.

The charity was forced to remove misinformation about puberty blockers by the watchdog last October.

The Telegraph reported at the time that Mermaids had been ordered to drop statements from its website about puberty blockers being “an internationally recognised safe, reversible healthcare option”.

The inquiry also highlighted other controversies, including the promotion of chest binders to children, which the newspaper revealed in 2022.

Campaigners celebrated Wednesday's ruling outside the Supreme CourtPA

At the time, Kathryn Downs, Mermaids’ chairman of trustees, said the Charity Commission probe had “confirmed, as we have repeatedly asserted, that we have not provided medical advice or acted improperly in our work with children, young people and their families.”

Downs added: “The trustees accepted that governance didn’t keep pace with the charity’s rapid growth linked to rising support needs from trans young people and their families.

“These historic governance issues were addressed through the implementation of the recommendations of two independent reviews, proactively commissioned by our trustees, into EDI and governance. The board also strengthened due diligence processes for trustee recruitment.”