Seven female nurses have won an employment tribunal case against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust after the trust allowed a trans woman colleague to use the women's changing rooms at Darlington Memorial Hospital. The tribunal ruled that the trust's actions violated the nurses' dignity and created a hostile, intimidating, humiliating and degrading environment.
Judge Sweeney found that the trust subjected the nurses to harassment related to sex and gender reassignment by permitting the biological male trans woman colleague to use the female changing room and requiring the nurses to share it without providing suitable alternative facilities. The trust also failed to take the nurses' concerns seriously, instead suggesting they needed education on trans rights.
The nurses alleged that the trans woman, Rose Henderson, stared at them and repeatedly asked one nurse if she was going to get changed. While the tribunal dismissed complaints about Henderson's conduct as not well-founded, it acknowledged the nurses' genuine fears for their dignity, bodily integrity and privacy.
Lead claimant Bethany Hutchison, backed by the Christian Legal Centre, called the ruling a victory for common sense. She said the judgment confirmed that requiring women to undress in front of men is a violation of dignity, and urged all NHS trusts to review their policies urgently.
Fellow claimant Lisa Lockey said the nurses had compassion for Henderson and blamed the trust for putting her in that situation. She added that women had been silenced and gaslighted by the trust, and called for safe spaces for women across the NHS.
The trust has not yet commented on the ruling. Ministers have said they will not be rushed into giving guidance on same-sex spaces, but Hutchison urged them to speed up, stating that the ruling shows the issue is straightforward.
