When a group of female NHS nurses complained to hospital bosses about the ‘intimidating’ behavior of a trans colleague in their shared dressing room, they should have at least expected a sympathetic hearing.
But officials not only dismissed the concerns of long-serving employees, they also reportedly told the nurses they needed to be “educated” and expand their minds.
It was, the nurses say, an “offensive” response to their legitimate complaints that their colleague’s presence was “demeaning and humiliating.” They also told the HR department that the 26-year-old stared at their breasts as they undressed and lingered in the locker room “longer than necessary.”
The nurses say their colleague – who is not believed to have had gender reassignment surgery – told colleagues at Darlington Memorial Hospital that they had stopped taking cross-sex hormones because they were trying to get their girlfriend pregnant and that was why ‘a sexually active biological disease’. male’.
Now, after being unhappy with the bosses’ response, eight of the nurses are launching an unprecedented employment tribunal against the NHS Trust that employs them, claiming harassment, indirect discrimination, victimization and human rights abuses.
Today, four of them bravely chose to speak to the Mail to describe how they are taking legal action to stand up for women’s rights.
Bethany Hutchison, 34, a surgical nurse, said: ‘It is shameful that nurses burst into tears before their shift. We are there to provide an emotional support to patients who are about to undergo surgery, and it is very difficult to do that when you are in a state of distress because you have to change clothes for a man .
‘I think women should stop being afraid of this and start using their voices. We’ve fought for women’s rights for so long, but it’s just gone backwards, and I’m not ready to see that.”
Their legal claim, seen by the Mail, says that since August 2023 they have repeatedly raised concerns with hospital managers about the trans nurse, named Rose, being given access to the female changing room. The nurses allege that Rose “stares at female colleagues, especially their breasts, while they are changing.”
In April, a formal complaint signed by 26 nurses was sent to bosses at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. But a human resources manager reportedly dismissed their concerns, saying nurses needed to “broaden their mindsets,” be “more inclusive” and “be trained.”
Ms Hutchison said: “It’s so insulting to us because we’re all educated – we need a degree to do this work and some of us have multiple degrees. We have very intelligent people in our department, so it was disgusting for them to say something like that to us.
‘We are not transphobic and we are not afraid of trans people – we believe they need their own changing space that is safe for them.’
Tracey Hooper, Annice Grundy, Lisa Lockey and Bethany Hutchinson have bravely spoken out
Lisa Lockey, 51, another claimant, said: ‘We get transgender patients through our department and we care for them. We’re nurses, we care about people, that’s our job, so it’s an insult that we’re made to feel like bigots.”
The nurses want hospital bosses to find an alternative room where Rose can change. National NHS policy allows staff to identify as the gender of their choice and access relevant facilities for men and women, but says ‘alternative arrangements must be made’ if this is deemed inappropriate.
Some nurses taking legal action want to remain anonymous, but four of them decided to break cover last night.
Ms Lockey said: “We have all been very uncomfortable about (coming forward). We know there are many trans activists who will probably hate us for what we do. But it’s not against transgender people. This is about protecting a woman’s space. It is not to hurt anyone, we want a safe policy.’
Tracey Hooper, 45, another claimant, said sharing the dressing room with Rose ‘makes me feel tense’, adding: ‘You scan the dressing room before you start undressing. It’s just very uncomfortable. I don’t want to change in front of a biological male, and I don’t want him to change either.
‘We’re not asking for him to go to the men’s changing room either, he needs to be taken care of. Everyone must be taken care of so that he or she feels comfortable and safe.’
As an infection control measure, nurses are required to change before and after their shift at the hospital. It is claimed that many female staff are now using toilet cubicles instead of the changing room to avoid Rose.
A fourth claimant, Annice Grundy, 54, said: ‘I don’t want to change in that changing room anymore – I’ve found another place to change, which I don’t think I should be doing.
‘My problem, now that I know the Trust policy, is that anyone can be in there; anyone who identifies as a woman can use that locker room.”
Last month, nurses told this newspaper how uncomfortable Rose made them feel in the locker room. One said: ‘We don’t feel safe because we strip down to our underwear and Rose doesn’t stay alone at his locker. He walks around in his boxer shorts.’
Another nurse said she was “almost in tears” during one incident. She said: ‘I was rummaging through my bag looking for my lanyard and keys for the locker when a man’s voice behind me said, ‘Aren’t you going to get changed yet?’ ‘
The woman – who was sexually abused as a child, has post-traumatic stress disorder and struggles to be alone around men – added: ‘He was standing there, two meters away from me, wearing a scrub top and a tight black boxer shorts with holes. in and asked (again) if I was getting dressed yet… I felt like I was glued to my chair, I couldn’t move. My hands started to sweat. I was terrified, felt sick and started hyperventilating.’
Today, the nurses also say they are concerned about the impact on foreign-born hospital staff from different religious backgrounds, who wear leggings and tops under their uniforms to avoid having their bodies seen, despite the discomfort this causes while on the job causes.
Mrs Lockey said: ‘It really made me angry. They came here to help the NHS and have not been treated fairly by our Trust.”
The NHS has long been the subject of criticism over its approach to single-sex spaces, particularly single-sex wards.
Under current NHS England guidance, transgender people can be accommodated in a unit that is ‘in line with their stated gender identity’ and this ‘is not conditional on having a gender recognition certificate or legal name change’. However, planned changes to the NHS Constitution will ensure that a trans woman is not placed in an all-women’s ward.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also published guidance stating that single-sex spaces could exclude transgender people if it is considered a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’ such as privacy or safety.
But cases like that of the Darlington nurses show how unclear some employers are about how to deal with guidance on self-identification.
Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, which supports the nurses’ claim, said: ‘This case clearly shows that this is a matter of biology and not ideology. Once we lose sense of physical reality, all kinds of real and dangerous consequences arise.
Darlington Memorial Hospital… the local NHS trust says the allegations are being investigated
‘Legislation to protect and promote ‘gender identity’ puts women at risk, as is so strikingly proven in this case.
“There should be no place in the workplace for transgender ideology that denies science and biological reality and is exploited in this way.
“The nurses at this hospital have spoken out with fear and anxiety. Between them, they have decades of experience on hospital wards, and they are the ones who need to be protected and comforted as they simply try to do the work they love without fear of retaliation if they speak out. We stand behind this dedicated group of professionals and will pursue this case until common sense prevails and justice is served.”
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘The Trust would like to emphasize that the claims made at this stage are allegations that must be fully investigated and assessed.
‘The Trust has initiated this through its internal processes and this work continues. However, as the allegations are now also the subject of active legal action, it would not be appropriate for the Trust to comment further at this stage.”
Rose was contacted for comment but did not respond.