NHS investigation ‘bent the rules' in favour of trans doctor

Telegraph

23-07-2025

The NHS investigation into a nurse who complained about a transgender doctor using a female hospital changing room repeatedly 'bent' impartiality rules, an employment tribunal has heard.
Naomi Cunningham KC, barrister for nurse Sandie Peggie, said there was a 'pattern' of 'rules being bent and the usual boundaries transgressed' to favour trans medic Dr Beth Upton.
She challenged Dr Kate Searle, an emergency medicine consultant at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, that the 'usual rules don't apply when dealing with Dr Upton, do they?'.
Dr Searle disagreed but Ms Cunningham pointed to an email she sent to Dr Upton, passing on a message of support from Jamie Doyle, the hospital's head of nursing.
The barrister said Mr Doyle was involved in the investigation and 'shouldn't it have been obvious to both you and Jamie that that was a wholly improper message from him.' Dr Searle replied: 'In hindsight, yes.'
Ms Cunningham highlighted that Dr Searle was allowed to be present during Dr Upton's interview for the investigation, despite also being a witness in the case.
She read an email from Angela Glancey, a clinical nurse manager, in which it was stated that Dr Searle would be interviewed first as 'that way there's no conflict once we speak to Dr Upton'.
Dr Searle replied that she did not know the rules but Ms Cunningham said: 'Once again, this is a situation where we see rules being bent and the usual boundaries transgressed for Dr Upton. That's what you want and Angela indulges you.'
She disagreed but then admitted she had committed a 'flagrant breach' of an instruction not to discuss the case with others, by speaking with another witness.
The tribunal had previously heard how Dr Searle had emailed 19 of the hospital's consultants shortly after the incident to state that Dr Upton 'knows we all support her, and that we condemn the actions of Sandie'.
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 the medic's presence. Within hours, a bullying complaint was lodged by Dr Upton and the nurse was then suspended.
In May last year 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 employment tribunal continues.
Dr Searle spoke with Dr Upton on the night of the changing room incident and helped the medic fill out an official report into the matter.
'Flagrant breach'
After Dr Searle was questioned about her email to the other consultants, and being present at Dr Upton's interview, Ms Cunningham said: 'Usual boundaries (are) transgressed because it's Doctor Upton, because it's about Doctor Upton. That's right, isn't it? This is becoming a pattern, isn't it?'
Dr Searle disagreed but Ms Cunningham highlighted her invitation to an investigation meeting that stated 'you should avoid discussing the case with anyone other than your representative to ensure your confidentiality and that of the other parties involved'.
The doctor said she had taken that instruction 'seriously' but she said she had not told Ms Glancey about her email to the other consultants, or passing on good wishes from Mr Doyle to Dr Upton.
Ms Cunningham highlighted that Dr Searle had also spoken with the only third-party witness who could substantiate a claim that Ms Peggie had refused to communicate with Dr Upton over a patient.
The barrister said the conversation was a 'flagrant breach' of the warning not to discuss the case with others. Dr Searle replied: 'In hindsight now, yes.'
The doctor also agreed that a large man in men's clothes should not be allowed to use the female changing room if he self-identified as a woman.
But she denied that Dr Upton was 'obviously male', saying she would not have known what sex the medic was 'assigned at birth' unless she had been told.
The tribunal continues.