Seven female nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital have won an employment tribunal case against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, after the trust allowed a transgender colleague to use the women's changing rooms. The tribunal ruled that the trust subjected the nurses to harassment related to sex and gender reassignment, violating their dignity and creating a hostile, intimidating, humiliating and degrading environment.
The nurses objected to sharing the facilities with Rose Henderson, a trans woman and operating theatre practitioner. Judge Sweeney found that the trust failed to take their concerns seriously, instead referring to the need for the nurses to be educated on trans rights and to broaden their mindsets. The trust later provided inadequate and unsuitable alternative changing facilities for those who objected.
The tribunal dismissed complaints about Henderson's conduct, stating she did not behave improperly in the changing room. However, it acknowledged the nurses' genuine perceptions and fears for their dignity, bodily integrity and privacy. Henderson described the online abuse she faced after the case became public as 'upsetting'.
Lead claimant Bethany Hutchison, backed by the Christian Legal Centre, called the ruling a 'victory for common sense' and urged all NHS trusts to review their policies. Fellow claimant Lisa Lockey said the nurses had compassion for Henderson but blamed the trust for the situation, adding that women had been 'silenced' and 'gaslighted' when they complained.
The 134-page ruling noted that Henderson was the only trans woman at the hospital using the women's changing rooms. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said the case made it clear that 'biological men are men, women are women' and that NHS policy should reflect this.
