Latest news with #DrBethUpton
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Trans doctor receives counselling due to the 'incredible distress' of NHS gender tribunal
A trans doctor at the centre of a landmark employment tribunal has claimed the distress of giving evidence forced the medic to undergo counselling. Dr Beth Upton has defiantly spoke out to say 'trans people are not going anywhere' after revealing plans for the money raised by a crowdfunder. Dr Upton, who was born a man, and Fife Health Board are accused of breaching the Equality Act after forcing nurse Sandie Peggie to get changed alongside the trans medic. Mrs Peggie, 50, was suspended from her job at NHS Fife after challenging Dr Upton's presence in the women's only facilities at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. She has lodged a claim of sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation at an employment tribunal. Although Dr Upton has given evidence to the tribunal, the medic has so far failed to comment on the proceedings outside of the court room. The 30-year-old has broken cover to tell supporters they should 'seize any chance to demonstrate that we're [trans people] here, we are loved, and we're not going anywhere'. In a message to those who donated almost £6,000 to a crowdfunder titled: 'Love and treats for Dr Beth Upton', the doctor on Wednesday said the tribunal had been 'incredibly distressing' but urged supporters not to give up the fight. The medic wrote: 'First, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for your kindness and generosity. 'The whole experience has been incredibly distressing and knowing there are people out there who support me and my community means the world to me. 'While this has been a huge personal struggle, I think it's also important to acknowledge the wider context the case exists in and the potential for its effects to impact many in the trans community and beyond. 'I feel we should seize any chance to demonstrate that we're here, we are loved, and we're not going anywhere.' Dr Upton said half of the £5,807 raised for their cause would go towards paying for counselling and time taken off by the medic's wife. It is understood the doctor's legal fees are being covered by the taxpayer via the NHS's Central Legal Office. The doctor wrote: 'Both my wife and I have been blown away by the support shown by all of you and have carefully considered how best to use the funds raised through this thoughtful gesture. 'We believe it's important, given our position, to share that kindness with others. 'With that in mind, we intend to divide the money roughly into two, using half to cover our practical costs related to the tribunal and surrounding experience (e.g. counselling, loss of earnings for my wife, travel and accommodation) and the other half we intend to split amongst several local charities and community groups working to support vulnerable people. 'We must not forget that the rights we do have have been hard fought for and we must continue to fight for those rights and for the rights of others. We must remember that we know ourselves better than others can ever know us and nothing can change who we know ourselves to be.' The message was signed off by Dr Upton and Zoe, the medic's wife, with the words 'love and solidarity'. The employment hearing in Dundee, which will resume in July, was launched before last month's Supreme Court ruling that clarified that the meaning of 'sex' in equalities law refers solely to 'biological' sex. The nurse lodged a claim against the health board and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation. The Mail revealed last week how Mrs Peggie is also suing the Royal College of Nursing for failing to help her in her battle against Fife Health Board. An equivalent fundraiser for Mrs Peggie has garnered around £38,000 worth of donations - all of which is set to go to charity. Last night, Susan Smith of campaign group For Women Scotland said: 'Dr Upton continues to pretend he is the victim, saying the experience has been 'incredibly distressing' and a 'huge personal struggle'. 'Reading this, one might forget the distress caused to a female nurse who objected to his presence in the women's changing room, and the compromise to her dignity and privacy. 'As for a 'struggle', Ms Peggie has the weight of the NHS against her and was unsupported by her own Union. 'Dr Upton, backed by managers and senior colleagues, is certainly not the underdog in this sorry tale and, moreover, pushed the hospital to take action against Sandie.'
Sky News
4 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
NHS Fife rebuked by watchdog over handling of transgender row tribunal cost requests
NHS Fife failed to comply with its freedom of information duties over the costs of an employment tribunal, Scotland's Information Commissioner has ruled. The health board received three separate requests in March 2025 for the cost to date of the legal action, which was brought by nurse Sandie Peggie after her complaint about sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton led to her suspension. She was suspended from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January 2024 after she objected to Dr Upton using the changing facilities in its A&E department on Christmas Eve 2023. Ms Peggie took the health board and Dr Upton to a tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal has been part heard, with proceedings set to continue in July. NHS Fife rejected all three freedom of information (FOI) requests, stating that the information requested was exempt under the FOI Act's exemption - which protects personal information. However, a probe by the Scottish Information Commissioner has revealed that when responding to the requests, NHS Fife did not actually have the information on which it based its reply. Information Commissioner David Hamilton said the details about costs was not obtained until later from the NHS Central Legal Office, and that the health board should have replied on the basis of information it did hold at the time of the requests. Mr Hamilton ordered the health board to carry out fresh searches for information it did "actually hold" at the time, and to issue revised responses in line with what it finds. The commissioner also disputed NHS Fife's claim the cost data would be exempt from disclosure on the basis set out, and called on it to "exercise caution" when considering related exemptions around any additional information found. Mr Hamilton described the matter as "frustrating" both for himself and for those who were seeking the information from the health board. "In the circumstances, I am only able to require that NHS Fife carry out further searches to identify all information held at the time the request was made and then issue a revised response to the requesters," he said. "The delays that have arisen as a result were wholly avoidable, and I would urge that all public authorities ensure their responses to FOI requests are based on information they actually hold." A spokesperson for the health board said: "NHS Fife notes the report from the Scottish Information Commissioner and intends to comply fully with its decision notice."
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS trust ‘trying to hide cost of trans doctor tribunal'
An NHS trust embroiled in a tribunal about a trans doctor being allowed to use a female changing room has been criticised for trying to hide its legal bill. David Hamilton, Scotland's information commissioner, said he was 'frustrated' by NHS Fife's response to requests for the costs from the employment tribunal, which was brought by nurse Sandie Peggie. He ruled that the trust did not appear to have undertaken any searches of its own records following the requests, which were lodged under Freedom of Information (FoI) laws. Instead NHS Fife approached the Central Legal Office (CLO), which provides legal advice to NHS Scotland, for the costs. But the board then argued that it did not have to publish the CLO figures as doing so could prejudice its 'interests' in the ongoing tribunal against Ms Peggie. NHS Fife also claimed that their legal expenses did not have to be released under FoI laws because of exemptions which protect personal information, the commercial interests of an organisation and the health and safety of individuals. Mr Hamilton ordered the board to 'carry out further searches' of its own records in order to confirm its legal bill, and warned that he was 'unlikely to be persuaded' that the FoI exemptions it had cited should prevent the publication of the figures. NHS Fife has been given until July 14 to provide a revised response. NHS Fife accused Ms Peggie of misconduct after she challenged the presence of Dr Beth Upton, a transgender woman, in a female changing room at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy. 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 the gender-critical belief that biological sex is immutable. NHS Fife has resisted pressure to concede the tribunal after the Supreme Court ruled in a separate case last month that trans women are not women. Earlier this month, the board failed to prevent the public from watching the tribunal online when it restarts in July. NHS Fife also refused three FoI requests for the costs it had incurred fighting the tribunal. Tess White, the equalities spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said: 'This is proof that a cynical culture of secrecy has taken hold at NHS Fife. 'Senior staff at the health board are clearly trying to hide the true costs incurred in defending the SNP's unlawful gender policy. This is taxpayers' money that could have gone to the NHS front line.' The three people behind the requests asked Mr Hamilton to intervene and an investigation found that NHS Fife's initial response was not based on its own information, but figures provided by the CLO. The information commissioner is prevented by FoI law from ruling on information that was not available when a request was made – including ruling on whether information must be disclosed. Mr Hamilton said: 'It's extremely frustrating that the action taken by NHS Fife has led to a situation where I am simply unable to rule on the substantive issues at the heart of this case. And, while it is frustrating for me, it will be far more frustrating for those people who sought access to this information. 'In the circumstances, I am only able to require that NHS Fife carry out further searches to identify all information held at the time the request was made and then issue a revised response to the requesters.' The row erupted the day after the SNP Government was ordered to pay the legal costs of the feminist group that won the Supreme Court case on the definition of a woman. A court order issued on Tuesday confirmed that taxpayers will cover costs incurred by For Women Scotland at both the Court of Session and the Supreme Court. The group has previously said it expects to recoup about £250,000 of its £417,000 costs. NHS Fife was approached for comment.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Nurse demands clarity from union over single-sex spaces
A nurse who was suspended by NHS Fife after she objected to a transgender doctor using a women's changing room has demanded clarity from her union about whether it raised concerns over single-sex spaces with the health Peggie's solicitor has written to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland to request its intervention in a "workplace industrial matter".It follows media reports that the RCN previously wrote to a health trust in England to inform bosses they were breaking the law by failing to provide single-sex changing rooms for RCN has been contacted for comment. Ms Peggie's solicitor Margaret Gribbon said that the union had told County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust that it had to abide by workplace regulations around single-sex letter, seen by BBC Scotland News, said Ms Peggie - who was not given industrial support when her case was raised with NHS Fife last year - was "surprised but nevertheless delighted" by the move south of the border. Ms Peggie was suspended from her work at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in January last year after she complained about having to share changing facilities with Dr Beth Upton, who is transgender, made an allegation of bullying and incidents alleged by Dr Upton happened before the UK supreme court unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities Peggie was signed off with stress in February this year, the same month the tribunal the nurse had been the subject of a year-long disciplinary investigation and will face a disciplinary hearing to answer allegations of gross misconduct next month. The letter said that, before returning to work, Ms Peggie "needs assurances that no male colleagues, irrespective of their gender identity, will be permitted to use female-only workplace changing rooms". Ms Gribbon said that she was awaiting a response on this from NHS lawyer made it clear that her client expected the union to "exercise its industrial muscle to challenge the decision which was adversely impacting her and other female union members".She also wrote that she first spoke to the union about the issue of single-sex spaces in February last she added: "To Sandie's knowledge and disappointment, the union has made no attempt to resolve this matter industrially with the board." Union questioned The letter said the English branch of the RCN told the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to abide by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and "provide single-sex changing rooms without delay".Ms Gribbon said it appeared the union had been prompted by ongoing litigation against the trust by a group of nurses in solicitor concluded by asking if the union had written to NHS Fife in the same terms that it wrote to the trust in the Darlington nurses' added: "If not, does the union intend to do so in future?"She added that Ms Peggie was not asking the union to intervene in her ongoing employment Royal College of Nursing, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Fife have been contacted for week NHS Fife failed in its bid to bar the public from viewing future hearings in an employment tribunal about a transgender doctor using a female changing health board sought a court order to restrict an online stream of the case brought by Ms Peggie when it resumes in July.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Nurse in trans doctor case demands clarity from union on single-sex spaces
A nurse who is suing NHS Fife after sharing a female changing room with a transgender doctor has demanded clarity from the nursing union about whether it raised concerns regarding single-sex spaces. A letter sent by Sandie Peggie's solicitor to the associate director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland, Norman Provan, calls for industrial intervention from the union on single-sex spaces. It said Ms Peggie is 'surprised but nevertheless delighted' that on March 27, the union wrote to the director of workforce at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust telling them they were breaking the law by failing to provide single-sex changing rooms for staff, according to reports. The English trust is facing similar litigation to NHS Fife, regarding nurses sharing a changing room with a transgender colleague, however Ms Peggie was not given industrial support when her case was raised in 2024, according to the letter. Ms Peggie has taken the health board and Dr Beth Upton to tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 regarding three incidents when they shared a changing room: indirect harassment, victimisation and whistleblowing. The tribunal resumes in July. The nurse was suspended on January 3 2024 after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, the tribunal in Dundee heard earlier this year. Ms Peggie has been a member of the RCN for 30 years and her solicitor Margaret Gribbon said the nurse is 'not asking the union to intervene in her ongoing litigation', which is not supported by it. The Royal College of Nursing, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, and NHS Fife have been contacted for comment.
