Nurse in trans doctor case demands clarity from union on single-sex spaces
The Royal College of Nursing reportedly wrote to an English health board claiming it was breaking the law with its changing room policy.
A nurse who is suing NHS Fife after sharing a female changing room with a transgender doctor has demanded clarity from the nursing union about whether it raised concerns regarding single-sex spaces.
A letter sent by Sandie Peggie’s solicitor to the associate director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland, Norman Provan, calls for industrial intervention from the union on single-sex spaces.
It said Ms Peggie is “surprised but nevertheless delighted” that on March 27, the union wrote to the director of workforce at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust telling them they were breaking the law by failing to provide single-sex changing rooms for staff, according to reports.
The English trust is facing similar litigation to NHS Fife, regarding nurses sharing a changing room with a transgender colleague, however Ms Peggie was not given industrial support when her case was raised in 2024, according to the letter.
Ms Peggie has taken the health board and Dr Beth Upton to tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 regarding three incidents when they shared a changing room: indirect harassment, victimisation and whistleblowing.
The tribunal resumes in July.
The nurse was suspended on January 3 2024 after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, the tribunal in Dundee heard earlier this year.
Ms Peggie has been a member of the RCN for 30 years and her solicitor Margaret Gribbon said the nurse is “not asking the union to intervene in her ongoing litigation”, which is not supported by it.
The Royal College of Nursing, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, and NHS Fife have been contacted for comment.