Baillie: Urgent NHS Fife inquiry needed for Sandie Peggie
She was suspended on January 3, 2024, after Dr Upton submitted a complaint alleging bullying and harassment and two patient safety concerns.
Ms Peggie was cleared of all four gross misconduct allegations after NHS Fife ruled there was "insufficient evidence".
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, Dame Jackie said the Scottish must "end" it, adding there "absolutely" needs to be an independent investigation into the health board.
She said: "I can't help but think of the 800,000 people on waiting lists across Scotland, many of whom are from Fife: the delayed discharges, the cancer waiting lists.
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"All of them exert the real pressures on the NHS and yet so much time of NHS Fife's senior management team has been devoted to this case."
She added: "Sandra is a nurse and we should value our nurses. NHS Fife's primary responsibility is healthcare and dealing with patients, so why are they pitting staff groups against each other?
"I also question the sense of NHS Fife being joint defenders in this action and I question the amount of money that's been spent on this and every day. NHS Fife are not covering themselves in glory."
NHS Fife's legal costs reached £258,831 on June 30, 2025, but are likely to have soared since the tribunal resumed in July.
Dame Jackie condemned the Scottish Government handling of the failed GRR legislation.
(Image: Colin Mearns) In February, Dame Jackie, alongside party leader Anas Sarwar, said they would not vote for the GRR Bill "knowing what we know now".
Labour MSPs were whipped to support the legislation in 2022, with Carol Mochan and Claire Baker losing their frontbench roles for opposing it.
But Dame Jackie told [[The Herald]] that the party backed the legislation because the [[Scottish Government]] gave "reassurances" that all of the complexities would be discussed with the UK Government.
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The Scottish Government lost its Court of Session appeal against the UK Government's decision to block the legislation using a Section 35 of the Scotland Act.
The court argued that the Scottish legislation would have a significant impact on equality law across the UK, particularly the Equality Act 2010.
The Bill aimed to simplify the process for transgender people to obtain legal recognition of their acquired gender.
It would have lowered the age for legal recognition and removed the requirement for a medical diagnosis, while also shortening the waiting time.
The Scottish Labour deputy leader said: "There is no way on earth that Scottish ministers - and particularly the health minister - knew nothing about what was going to happen. I don't understand why we are still here. Some people believe it should play out, but to be frank, if I was the Scottish Government, I would have ended this.
"The issue now is that Sandie Peggie won't be the only person. There will be other health boards and other public bodies. The government needs to move fast on this. It can't wait until after the election."
"Practically, we need to see where there has been institutional capture and fix that," she added.
"That's what the Scottish Government should do without waiting. I'm now in a place that says we should be inclusive of everybody in society but there's a way of doing it that safeguards the rights of others."
Ms Baillie said she "had assurances on the record" that the Scottish Government would liaise with the UK Government.
"Our fault was to believe the reassurances we'd been given that there were negotiations going on with the UK Parliament."
A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: 'NHS Fife did not initiate the ongoing legal proceedings and is instead defending an action brought against it.
'While we recognise the significance of the ongoing tribunal, the Health Board has never lost sight of its core purpose, which is to provide the best possible healthcare services for the people of Fife.
'Furthermore, we remain committed to ensuring our working environments are respectful, inclusive, and supportive places for all of our staff, while fulfilling our statutory and legal obligations as an employer.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "It would be inappropriate to comment further while judicial proceedings in an Employment Tribunal are ongoing.
'This year, we are investing a record £21.7 billion in health and social care including £106 million to help health boards tackle the longest waits and deliver over 300,000 additional appointments."
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