Latest news with #DrBethUpton
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Trans doctor's boss breaks down in tears while being questioned at tribunal
A medical consultant broke down in tears while being quizzed at a landmark employment tribunal. Dr Kate Searle, a consultant in emergency medicine, sobbed as she defended her actions in the dispute between trans medic Dr Beth Upton and veteran nurse Sandie Peggie. At one point proceedings were halted to allow Dr Searle, who has worked for NHS Fife for 11 years, to compose herself. It came during an intensive day of cross-examination of the trans medic's boss by Ms Peggie's legal team as part of the high-profile employment tribunal brought against NHS Fife and Dr Upton. The nurse was suspended from her work at Victoria Hospital, in Kirkcaldy, after she challenged the 30-year-old doctor in the female-only changing room on Christmas Eve 2023. Last week the 51-year-old was cleared of gross misconduct but the separate employment tribunal continues. Ms Peggie brought the legal action saying her treatment is against the Equality Act. Dr Upton has alleged that there have been patient safety concerns involving the nurse. A healthcare assistant is said to be witness to one of two claimed incidents but when the worker's name was mentioned Dr Searle began sobbing, and told the court: 'I am worried involving someone who doesn't want to be involved in the press in this case. It's not fair on her.' The hearing was brought to a halt, but resumed about five minutes later. Ms Peggie's lawyer, Naomi Cunningham, told the tribunal the healthcare assistant was an 'important witness in the investigation' because she was the only person who was able to shed any light on Dr Upton's allegation the claimant refused to engage with the medic in relation to a patient who had gone away without being seen. But she said the healthcare assistant's account 'contradicted' Dr Upton's stance who said there had been no conversation while the worker remembered there being one. The tribunal then heard of a subsequent discussion between the consultant and healthcare assistant, but Dr Searle could not remember when. Dr Searle said she sought out the worker because she was supporting Dr Upton and the medic had identified her as witnessing one of the incidents which needed evidence. Ms Cunningham said the consultant had been 'determinedly acting on Dr Upton's behalf' to try to round up evidence in support of Dr Upton's version of events, but Dr Searle told her she asked to see 'if her story supported Beth's'. Amid the intense cross-examination the lawyer put it to the witnesses: 'Were you horrified when I mentioned her name, not out of a desire to protect her but out of a desire to protect yourself from the possible consequences of making up something about what she'd said?' Dr Searle told her: 'No, absolutely not.' At this point NHS Fife KC Jane Russell said the witness had become 'visibly distressed', but Dr Searle said she could continue with her evidence. The alleged patient safety incidents were not reported at the time they were said to have happened, and Dr Searle said she did not agree with Ms Cunningham's suggestion that this was the case because 'they didn't happen'. Dr Searle said it was 'offensive and objectional' to have challenged Dr Upton in the women's changing room. She told Ms Cunningham: 'If everybody was just kind to each other and went about these things in another way, there was no reason for it to come to this.' Dr Searle had sent an email to other consultants working in the hospital's emergency department - in which she condemned Ms Peggie's actions. But Ms Cunningham said the consultant had 'left confidentiality in ruins' by sending that email while an investigation was ongoing adding the conversation with the healthcare worker was a 'flagrant breach' in confidentiality. Dr Searle admitted: 'In hindsight, yes.' The tribunal also heard Ms Russell object to Dr Upton being called a man by Ms Cunningham, but insist 'she's a trans woman'. Ms Cunningham said the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling in April meant 'legally speaking a trans woman is a man so there was a man in the women's changing room', but Ms Russell said she disagreed with that summary. Put to the witness that Dr Upton was 'obviously male', Dr Searle said 'no' and that she would 'not have known what sex Dr Upton was assigned at birth'. Meanwhile, employment judge Sandy Kemp yesterday said he would not issue an order against NHS Fife following their stunning intervention in the case last week. Mr Kemp said: 'I have considered the press release issued by the first respondent on July 18, 2025, which had been addressed in submission by the parties, and it was decided to make no order in relation to it.' The tribunal, being heard in Dundee, continues.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Boss of trans doctor in case of nurse suspended for challenging medic's use of female changing room denies she 'deliberately' concealed a 'seriously embarrassing' email from tribunal
Lawyers for a nurse suspended after complaining about sharing a changing room with a trans medic have accused a group of senior doctors of hiding an email in a bid to conceal alleged wrongdoing. Sandie Peggie, 51, is suing NHS Fife and Dr Beth Upton after she was suspended for confronting the trans doctor when she was made to change next to her in a female-only changing room. Yesterday lawyers for Ms Peggie claimed that a consultant in emergency medicine at the hospital had failed to hand over a 'seriously embarrassing' email to the tribunal. Naomi Cunningham KC claimed Dr Kate Searle failed to hand over the email which showed an alleged attempt to 'set up and coordinate a group' of witnesses in the investigation into complaints made against Ms Peggie. The accusation came as Dr Searle - the senior medic who supervised Dr Beth Upton and helped complete a report following the incident between the trans doctor and Ms Peggie - gave evidence to the tribunal in Dundee. On Tuesday Dr Searle denied 'deliberately concealing' an email sent between six potential witnesses discussing an investigation into Ms Peggie. During cross-examination, Dr Searle was asked about a number of emails, including one to six respondents referring to a 'small need to know group' to help avoid 'foot in mouth syndrome'. Ms Cunningham KC said there was 'something a bit odd going on here' as there were separate chains with the same subject line, which looked as if they were connected but she said there were earlier messages in the chain which appeared to have been deleted. Ms Cunningham KC said an email looked as if it had not been submitted to the tribunal when it should have been, and there was a further email that should have appeared at the bottom of a chain that was 'for some reason, chopped off'. 'But on the face of this email, it is quite understandable, isn't it, why those involved in that small need to know group might have preferred not to have it looked at in the course of this tribunal,' the lawyer said. She added that the email was 'seriously embarrassing' to NHS Fife and Dr Upton. She said: 'It talks about a live investigation. It says in terms that Esther [Davidson, Ms Peggie's supervisor], who a few days earlier and then again until the end of February is going to be the investigator, it says in terms Esther cannot do it, as she has been involved in the discussions with Sandie previously. 'It appears to be an intention to set up and coordinate a group of people who should not be talking about this investigation to each other because they are witnesses. 'It says in terms this information must not be shared with anyone outside this group, and it talks about the risk of foot in mouth syndrome. It is in itself, quite a serious case of foot in mouth syndrome, isn't it?' Dr Searle said she could 'appreciate that in hindsight, we should not have written these things in a group email to witnesses'. 'And having done that, everybody involved in that chain had quite good reason to prefer that it shouldn't see the light of day,' argued Ms Cunningham. Dr Searle responded: 'I cannot comment whether this email was withheld. I don't think you can prove that these two emails are linked. 'And when we were all asked by the IT department to do a thorough search of our emails, we did so, and this email was produced.' Ms Cunningham said: 'But you were asked to do some degree of search of emails on the previous trawls, and this email wasn't produced. Was it? You didn't produce it in time for the first part of this hearing, in response to the January 3 order.' Ms Cunningham said there were six people copied on the email. She asked if all those copied in had agreed between them that none of them would produce it. 'Absolutely not,' Dr Searle replied. Ms Cunningham said: 'I would suggest to you that you deliberately defied an order of the tribunal to conceal your own wrongdoing and that of your colleagues.' 'I absolutely do not agree with that,' Dr Searle said. 'If you had done that, it would be dishonest. Wouldn't it?' Ms Cunningham asked. 'It would be dishonest to do that, and I am a doctor who acts as honestly as I can at all times.' She agreed that it would be an issue for the regulator if she, as a doctor, had not acted with honesty and integrity. Hearings, in Dundee, continue.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Nurse at centre of gender storm takes action against union
A nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in 2024 after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, the Herald reported that Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Ms Peggie's lawyer Margaret Gribbon said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' The paper reported that Ms Peggie will be taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesperson told the newspaper: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Transgender doctor's complaint that she felt 'threatened' by much smaller nurse in female changing room row was 'plausible', senior medic says
A transgender doctor complained that she felt threatened by a 'much smaller' nurse in the female-only changing rooms at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, a tribunal has heard. A senior medic in the ongoing legal action between transgender medic Dr Beth Upton and nurse Sandie Peggie, said that it was 'plausible' that Dr Upton could have felt threatened. Dr Elspeth Pitt, a consultant in emergency medicine at NHS Fife, told the tribunal that Dr Upton was 'sobbing' following a confrontation with Ms Peggie. She added that her fellow doctor, who was born male but identifies as female, 'was really upset, she felt very fearful, and, at that time, had felt cornered'. Following the incident, Dr Pitt chaperoned Dr Upton to her car in case there was another encounter with the nurse and described the medic as feeling 'quite threatened'. The row between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton centres around the trans medic using a female-only changing room which led to the nurse accusing Fife Health Board of breaching the Equality Act. In the tribunal, in response to the suggestion Dr Upton felt threatened by her much smaller colleague, Charlotte Elves, Ms Peggie's junior counsel, said Dr Upton was a 'biological male in his 20s' who was around 6ft tall. In contrast, she described Ms Peggie as 'a woman in her 50s, far smaller' and countered Dr Pitt's suggestion that Dr Upton was made to feel unsafe by Sandie Peggie, calling it 'completely implausible'. Dr Pitt insisted it 'did not sound implausible to me' but clarified that the trans medic was not 'physically threatened' but 'frightened' by Ms Peggie's 'verbal attack'. The tribunal also heard from charge nurse Louise Curran, Ms Peggie's line manager, that Dr Upton had considered reporting the encounter to the police as a 'hate crime', The Telegraph reported. The row between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton centres on an incident on Christmas Eve 2023 where the nurse experienced a sudden and heavy period and feared that it had bled through to her scrubs. The nurse entered the female changing room and was surprised to find Dr Upton there. It was the last of three occasions Ms Peggie had encountered the doctor within the changing room at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, an employment tribunal in Dundee heard earlier this year. She challenged the doctor over her presence in the space that was labelled as a women's changing room, and just hours later a bullying complaint had been lodged by her. Ms Peggie was suspended from work at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on January 3 2024, after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, the tribunal heard earlier this year. Counter to the complaint, the nurse submitted a formal claim to the employment tribunal in May last year against NHS Fife and Dr Upton for sexual harassment, belief discrimination, and victimisation. Ms Peggie complained of being forced to share a single-sex space with someone she believed to be male. She also complained of being victimised for holding a gender-critical belief that biological sex is unchangeable. At the time of the complaint, Dr Upton was unable to hold a gender recognition certificate, meaning that technically the medic was legally male. Dr Pitt told the tribunal she found Dr Upton in a state of 'visible distress' in a corridor at around midnight, shortly after the 'unpleasant and painful' changing room confrontation. Dr Pitt said the medic had confided that she felt cornered and unable to escape Ms Peggie. She told the tribunal: 'She [Dr Upton] said she felt as if she had been cornered and that the end of a shift was not a good time to have this conversation, but it escalated and she felt she couldn't get away. She just felt very upset by what had been said to her.' Dr Pitt said that Ms Peggie had complained that the trans medic 'should not been in the changing room' and had made parallels with a 'convicted rapist', referring to trans rapist Isla Bryson who attacked two women in 2016 and 2019 but now identifies as a woman. Dr Pitt described Dr Upton as 'sobbing' after the encounter and then told the tribunal that she believed it was completely plausible that the trans medic had been made to feel unsafe by Ms Peggie. She said: 'There's no question to me, having met Dr Upton in that corridor, that she felt very threatened. 'And just to be clear, it was a verbal attack. It wasn't that she felt physically threatened. She just felt frightened because of things that had been said to her.' After walking her to her car, Dr Pitt sent an email to the medic's line manager, Dr Kate Searle, and Ms Peggie's line manager, asking to speak the following week. Ms Elves highlighted an email sent by Dr Searle on Dec 29 2023 to around 20 senior consultants in which she said she had spoken to Dr Upton. Dr Searle said that she had ensured that Dr Upton 'knows we all support her, and that we condemn the actions of Sandie'. Ms Elves asked Dr Pitt whether she engaged with three email chains about the incident 'as they were becoming increasingly partisan, condemnatory of Sandie Peggie, and you knew that was not appropriate.' Dr Pitt said: 'I don't use email as a form of conversation.' In a statement, the health board said: 'NHS Fife did not initiate the tribunal proceedings and is instead one of two 'respondents' being sued. 'NHS Fife cannot unilaterally stop proceedings – only the claimant can choose to withdraw the case. The claimant has said in a recent statement from her legal representatives that she is determined to continue with her legal claim, as she is entitled to do.' Earlier this week in a stunning development Ms Peggie was cleared of gross misconduct by an NHS Fife disciplinary hearing as part of separate proceedings brought against her.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Tribunal hears trans doctor sobbed while reporting nurse
A transgender doctor was "distressed" and sobbed while telling a senior colleague about a confrontation with a nurse over the use of female changing Elspeth Pitt told an employment tribunal Dr Beth Upton appeared pale and was "very shaken" when they met in a corridor at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy at the end of their Peggie and Dr Upton had earlier had a disagreement after the nurse told the doctor they should not be in the same changing the exchange on Christmas Eve 2023, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024. On Friday the tribunal heard from Dr Pitt, who is a consultant in emergency medicine with NHS recalled being approached by Dr Upton about midnight, at the end of that day's pair then moved from the corridor to a well-being room, which was a short walk from the changing room. Dr Pitt, who was on call through the night into Christmas morning, was asked what state Dr Upton was consultant replied: "She looked very shaken and she was visibly distressed and upset."Dr Pitt added Dr Upton looked "quite pale" and "startled".The consultant was then told there had been a "very upsetting incident".Dr Pitt added: "She was really upset."She had felt very fearful and that point felt cornered." The tribunal said the encounter with Ms Peggie had "become very unpleasant and painful for her".Dr Pitt added: "The gist was that Sandie felt that Dr Upton should not be in the changing room."The consultant said she was told the tone of the disagreement was "aggressive" and "unkind".Dr Pitt said she mainly listened to Dr Upton but said she would report the matter and signposted the complainer to a British Medical Association (BMA) peer support consultant said she was not sure of the next steps but encouraged Dr Upton to get some rest and family Pitt told the tribunal she sent an email from her car to Dr Upton's supervisor and the charge nurse. Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal The tribunal also heard an informal monthly meeting between senior consultants and senior nurses - held some time before the Christmas Eve incident - was made aware concerns had been raised about Dr Upton having access to the female changing Pitt said: "At one of those meetings before December, a member of senior nurses had said there had been a concern raised about Dr Upton using that changing room but that our understanding was that she was entitled to, that's what we had been informed. "We were not told of the specifics, that was to be aware that people had a concern."On Wednesday, Ms Peggie was cleared of gross misconduct following disciplinary proceedings by the health had been accused of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Fife said an internal hearing found there was "insufficient evidence to support a finding of misconduct".The tribunal continues.
