Nurse at centre of trans doctor row accused of racism after suspension lifted

Telegraph

a day ago

A nurse who complained about a transgender doctor using a hospital's female changing room was accused of racism by senior NHS staff, an employment tribunal has heard.
Charlotte Myles, a service manager at NHS Fife, said she had reviewed a decision to suspend Sandie Peggie over the row with Dr Beth Upton, who was born male but identifies as female.
Ms Myles told a tribunal in Dundee that senior figures at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy 'expressed unhappiness' at her decision to allow Ms Peggie to return to work.
She said they claimed that the nurse was homophobic, had been 'racist towards a doctor' and that she supported Donald Trump's views on gender.
She said Dr Kate Searle, who was Dr Upton's line manager, alleged there were 'patient safety issues' with allowing Ms Peggie to resume her nursing job.
It was claimed that Ms Peggie had walked away from patients when Dr Upton arrived to treat them, including one who required resuscitation.
But none of the allegations were reported at the time they were said to have occurred or were supported by documentation, she said.
Ms Myles said they instead came from 'second, third-hand information' and the doctor who was the alleged subject of the racist comment did not recall it having been made.
She said Ms Peggie 'wasn't happy' with the homophobia claims as 'I believe she has a daughter who is gay'. Nicole Peggie tweeted on Monday that her mother was 'my best friend'.
Ms Myles said that the lack of evidence meant she did not consider the allegations when reaching her decision to end the nurse's suspension.
She said claims that the nurse shared Mr Trump's views on gender were 'tittle tattle' and Ms Peggie was entitled to her private opinions if they did not harm patients.
The Scottish Tories said: 'The scale of the witch hunt conducted against Sandie Peggie by her employers becomes ever more apparent and indefensible.'
The row centres on an encounter between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton on Dec 24, 2023. The nurse experienced a sudden and heavy period and feared that it had bled through to her scrubs.
Ms Peggie entered the female hospital changing room to find Dr Upton and challenged their presence. Within hours, a bullying complaint was lodged by Dr Upton and the nurse was suspended.
In May 2024 Ms Peggie submitted a formal claim to an employment tribunal against NHS Fife and Dr Upton for sexual harassment, belief discrimination and victimisation.
The nurse complained of being required to share a single-sex space with someone she believed to be male and being victimised for holding a gender-critical belief that biological sex is immutable.
It emerged last week that Ms Peggie had been cleared of gross misconduct by an NHS Fife disciplinary hearing. However, the tribunal is scheduled to continue for another seven days, with Dr Searle giving evidence on Tuesday.
After being asked to review the nurse's suspension on Feb 27 2024, Ms Myles said she concluded there was no risk to patients in Ms Peggie returning to work.
But she said senior staff at the hospital 'weren't particularly happy with my decision' when she informed them.
She name-checked Dr Searle and Dr Margaret Currer, who are both consultants in emergency medicine, and Esther Davidson and Louise Curran, two nurses who are Ms Peggie's line managers.
After Dr Searle made the patient safety and racism allegations, Ms Myles said she challenged her whether they had been 'escalated and reported appropriately when these events happened'.
Dr Searle said they had not and Ms Myles warned her that 'if these events had happened and there's been a failure to report' them, the doctor would be 'culpable' for any future incidents.
Supporter of Donald Trump
Ms Myles said Ms Davidson and Ms Curran had made similar allegations and she again asked them for the dates when the incidents occurred and whether they had been escalated.
But she said they 'couldn't give me an accurate response' and it was 'all hearsay', leading her to take no action. Ms Peggie had received no previous complaints from patients or staff.
Asked about Ms Curran's allegations, she said: 'Again, it was just very similar and, like you said, tittle tattle of being a supporter of Donald Trump and sharing his views on gender.
'But again, that's somebody's personal view. As long as it doesn't impact on patients and it doesn't impact on the workforce and actually doesn't cause harm to anybody within the board, then people are entitled to have their private views.'
Ms Myles said Ms Peggie was alleged to have called a consultant a 'p---' but it 'took a while' for Ms Davidson to recall the identity of the alleged victim, who 'doesn't recall the comment'.
The tribunal also heard that the nurse rejected a proposal to work at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline so she and Dr Upton could avoid each other.
Nicole Peggie, the nurse's daughter, responded to the homophobia allegations on X, saying: 'Jeez, do I need to go back under oath to clear this up?
'My mum is my best friend, has and always will be. Her only concern is if I'm happy.'
Tess White, the Scottish Tories' shadow equalities minister, said: 'It's plain wrong that she was urged to work at a different hospital after pointing out that her right to access a single-sex space was being denied, while the lack of evidence for the racism allegation thrown at her suggests it was a crude smear.'