Nurses put NHS trans policies under examination

Nurses at the centre of a battle over single-sex changing rooms have taken their concerns directly to the chair of Britain’s equality watchdog.

Representatives of the Darlington Nurses Union (DNU) and their lawyers met Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chair Mary-Ann Stephenson yesterday to raise concerns about NHS policies, accountability and the treatment of staff who reject trans ideology.

The meeting comes as NHS England faces criticism for failing to set a timetable for updating its single-sex policies following last year’s Supreme Court ruling that “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.

Despite the EHRC’s revised statutory Code of Practice coming into force on August 5, NHS England’s existing Delivering same-sex accommodation guidance remains in place while it is reviewed. It says trans patients should be accommodated according to their “gender presentation”, which may not correspond with their sex.

The DNU questioned who is ultimately accountable when similar policies are adopted across multiple NHS trusts, despite responsibility formally resting with individual trusts.

They also raised the cases of Sandie Peggie and Jennifer Melle, and asked whether healthcare professionals are being treated detrimentally for holding protected beliefs. Concerns were also raised about whether regulators, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, are adequately protecting registrants with such beliefs.

The union said on X: “Public bodies, NHS Trusts and regulators must ensure that equality law protects everyone, including those whose beliefs are unpopular or contested.”

The DNU grew out of the dispute at Darlington Memorial Hospital, where nurses objected to sharing a changing room with a male colleague who identified as trans. In January, an employment tribunal upheld their claims of harassment and indirect sex discrimination against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

An NHS spokesperson told The Times: “The NHS will publish approved new guidance for the health service on single-sex accommodation shortly, in line with other public sector bodies. In the meantime, hospitals should be acting within the principles set out in the EHRC code to ensure all patients are cared for with dignity and respect.”