Trans complaint hospital had 'atmosphere of fear'

Nurses from Darlington have launched legal action against hospital bosses

Hospital bosses created an "atmosphere of fear" after female nurses complained about a trans colleague using their changing room, a tribunal has been told.

Eight nurses have launched employment proceedings against bosses of Darlington Memorial Hospital over the use of the female locker room by Rose Henderson, who is biologically male but identifies as a woman.

Nurse Bethany Hutchison told the tribunal in Newcastle she felt she and others had been judged as "troublemakers" by bosses.

Lawyers for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said the nurses were "embellishing" complaints about their colleague's behaviour as part of a wider issue on single-sex spaces.

The nurses from the Day Surgery Unit have made multiple claims of harassment by Rose Henderson, who the tribunal heard would be referred to as Rose, including allegations that Rose

• spent longer than necessary in the changing room

• walked around the room in boxer shorts

• stared at colleagues' breasts when they were getting changed

• initiated conversation with women while changing

Mrs Hutchison said she had not experienced any of that herself and only became aware of Rose using the changing room in the summer of 2023 after another colleague told her about it.

She said she only had one interaction with Rose in the changing room, when she got a "shock" as a figure who "looked so masculine" entered as she was leaving.

The nurses say managers had no sense of urgency to resolve their complaints

Simon Cheetham KC, representing the trust, said Rose had been using the changing room since 2019 without any issue, yet "suddenly" in 2023 there were "lots of complaints".

Mrs Hutchison said more people in the unit were noticing Rose's "extreme behaviour".

Mr Cheetham cited an interview Mrs Hutchison gave to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour in which she said she did "not hold anything against" Rose personally but Rose had been a "catalyst and raised awareness of an issue".

He suggested the nurses had "embellished" their allegations about Rose's behaviour, which Mrs Hutchison said was an "outrageous" claim.

She said while she had not witnessed any incidents with Rose in the changing room, she had seen Rose's "intimidating behaviour" outside of it.

Mr Cheetham said Mrs Hutchison's "concern" was the presence of a trans woman in the changing room rather than anything Rose was alleged to have done.

Mrs Hutchison said: "I'm not sure why that's an issue, a man was in the female changing room."

The nurses work at Darlington Memorial Hospital's Day Surgery Unit

The tribunal heard Mrs Hutchison and others submitted a letter to bosses citing more concerns about Rose, including allegations Rose was stopping female hormone treatment and wanting to impregnate a partner.

Mrs Hutchison was asked how she could know that to be true, to which she replied it was "common knowledge" with many people talking about it, including friends of Rose's.

Mrs Hutchison refused to name those she spoke to, saying people had expressed fears of "retribution from the trust".

While acknowledging nobody had been disciplined for speaking out, Mrs Hutchinson said there was "this atmosphere of fear from senior managers" and "we were not allowed to discuss this issue at all".

The tribunal heard Rose would say the hormone and pregnancy claims were not true, to which Mrs Hutchison replied she found it "quite difficult to believe anything" Rose said, adding: "He's a man pretending to be a woman."

'Rose was a trigger'

The nurses spoke to the media and launched their employment claim on 28 May 2024, eight days after managers said they would look for solutions, the tribunal heard.

Mrs Hutchison said she simply did not trust the managers as they had had "no sense of urgency" to resolve the complaints, which was "inexcusable", and she felt the group had been prejudged as "troublemakers".

She said she then refused to engage in a resolution procedure set up by the trust because she thought the investigator would be "biased" and, as her concerns had already been raised, she did not think it necessary for her to be involved.

Mrs Hutchison also she did not have a good impression of the trust's human resources department and said she was made to feel the nurses were "the ones in the wrong" with the trust just wanting to "protect" Rose.

She said she accepted going public had violated Rose's privacy, but that Rose had been "violating" the privacy of her and the nurses by being in their changing room.

Mrs Hutchison said the complaint was about the trust's "policy", adding: "Rose was a trigger for us looking into the policy."

The tribunal has previously heard a poster was put up in July 2024 declaring the changing rooms to be "inclusive".

Mrs Hutchison said she did not know who put it up, but "typically" such actions would be by the "senior team" and managers were slow to remove it after complaints were made.

She said the nurses' position was there should be a third changing room for transgender people.

After concerns were raised by the nurses, an individual changing cubicle was set up in a store room leading off a meeting room for them to use, the tribunal heard.

The nurses are being supported in their claim by lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre.

The tribunal continues.