Civil servants overseeing a controversial policy which forces doctors to ask all patients about their sexuality are unhappy answering the question themselves, Government documents show.

From April next year, all NHS doctors and nurses will have had to enquire about their patient’s sexual orientation, regardless of its relevance to the illness.

The policy has been criticised on the basis it risks making people uncomfortable and damaging the doctor-patient relationship.

Now, a report by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) reveals that more than a third of officials did not feel able to disclose their own status when asked.

A poll for department’s annual Equality Analysis reveals that on the question of sexual orientation 28 per cent of the 1,401 employees were “not declared”, with 6 per cent actively designating “prefer not to say”.

The number of civil servants prepared to declare also dropped nine per cent to 72 per cent compared to the previous year.

The NHS has said it is required to ask patients about their sexuality in order to comply with equality laws, arguing the information helps alert doctors to conditions more prevalent among gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

But last night the College of Medicine said the new data illustrated how uncomfortable many people are discussing the issue.