A group of seven female nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital have won an employment tribunal case against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust over the use of single-sex changing rooms by a trans colleague. The tribunal ruled that the trust subjected the nurses to harassment related to sex and gender reassignment.
Judge Sweeney found that allowing trans woman Rose Henderson to use the women's changing facilities violated the nurses' dignity and created “a hostile, intimidating, humiliating and degrading environment”. The trust also failed to take the nurses' concerns seriously, instead referring to the need for them to be educated on trans rights.
The nurses claimed Henderson stared at them and asked one nurse three times if she was going to get changed. The tribunal dismissed complaints about Henderson's conduct, stating she did not behave improperly, but acknowledged the nurses' genuine fears for their dignity and privacy.
Lead claimant Bethany Hutchison called the ruling a “victory for common sense”, stating that requiring women to undress in front of men is a violation of dignity. She urged all NHS trusts to review their policies to protect women. Another claimant, Lisa Lockey, said women had been silenced and gaslighted by the trust.
The Christian Legal Centre, which backed the claim, said the ruling makes it clear that biological men are men and women are women, and that NHS policy should reflect this. The trust has not yet commented on the judgment.
