THE HEADLINES

The NHS has introduced a policy, inspired by Stonewall, which allows men who “identify as women” to use female staff changing rooms.

When a group of female nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital raised concerns about a man identifying as ‘Rose’, using their changing room, they were told to ‘be more inclusive’, ‘compromise’, ‘broaden their mindset’ and ‘get re-educated.’ Rose also offered to help ‘educate’ the nurses. 

One nurse, who has experienced sexual abuse as a child, had panic attacks after Rose repeatedly asked her one-on-one and alone in the changing room: ‘Are you getting changed yet?

A nurse was asked why they don’t feel safe by HR and responded: ‘We don’t feel safe because…we strip down to our underwear and [the transgender colleague] doesn’t just stay by his locker. He walks around the changing room in his boxer shorts, and you can see his male genitalia flapping about.’

The changing room does not have cubicles but staff lockers with a large open space where nurses change before and after working. The door clicks shut and has a lock system that makes it slow to get in and out of.

The nurses’ concerns were repeatedly ignored by their superiors and have faced no alternative but to take legal action against County and Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust on the grounds of sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation. The nurses say they have been forced to undress in front of a man and the policy puts them and countless women across the NHS at risk.

Since they went public with their case a poster appeared on the female changing room door which said: ‘INCLUSIVE CHANGING ROOM SPACE: DO NOT REMOVE THIS SIGN.’

The Trust then gave the nurses a ‘temporary’ changing space which was an office, without lockers with a door opening directly onto a public corridor. Rose, who has openly said he is trying to get his girlfriend pregnant, continues to use the female changing rooms. The nurses have described the changing room as ‘dehumanising’ and ‘humiliating.’ They were also threatened with disciplinary action for speaking to the media about what has happened to them.

Since the nurses went public with their story, they have received widespread media coverage, backing from J.K. Rowling and have met with the health secretary, Wes Streeting, who said he is ‘horrified’ by their case. However, Mr Streeting has taken no action to support the nurses.

A landmark employment tribunal case is underway in Newcastle, supported by the Christian Legal Centre. It is due to finish in mid-November 2025 and the outcome will be expected around February 2026.

For taking the stand that they have, the nurses were described a ‘transphobic bigots’ by the head of Unison, the UK’s biggest trade union with predominantly female members.

In response the nurses have launched a first of its kind trade union, the Darlington Nursing Union, which is dedicated to protecting the dignity of women in the workplace.

Now they have been reported to their regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which has the power to remove their licences to practise as nurses in the UK.

Not only are they facing a threat to their livelihoods, but now the nurses are being silenced and punished for the stance they have taken.

Why does this case matter?

This case and its implications impact everybody. Whether you are male or female, not just in the NHS but across the UK’s institutions, your daughter, sister, wife or mother could be put at risk due to this policy.  

The NHS’s discriminatory and harmful policy which forces its female staff to undress in front of men and puts dangerous ideology above safety, dignity and legal requirements needs to be challenged at every level.

We need your help in continuing to fund the case in the employment tribunal and in any necessary appeal, and in defending the nurses in their investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and in the fitness to practise proceedings that are likely to follow..

As their case goes on, it’s become clear that authority figures keep refusing to do the right thing. What should have been cut-and-dry has been dragged into several long, expensive legal battles. That’s why we need to establish a new battle fund to make sure that they get all the support they need – for the ET case and any necessary appeal, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and beyond.

Spokesperson for the group, Bethany Hutchison said:

“We want women to be aware that there are transgender policies, particularly in the NHS, that are putting us at risk. This should not be something women even need to think about. However, the extreme transgender ideology that is putting us at risk is so ingrained and has gone so far that we and other women have no choice but to speak out.

“Other nurses are terrified of sticking their heads above the parapet. We are speaking out for us and for those who are too afraid to. This cannot be right, and we want a change in policy, not only at our hospital but across the NHS and wider society.

“The meetings we have had at the hospital have been threatening and intimidating. To say we need educating when staff have multiple degrees was deeply insulting and demonstrates a failure of care towards female staff, some of whom are vulnerable.

“There have been times when I have been alone with ‘Rose’ in the changing rooms and have panicked. Rose looks very masculine, and it is a shock. I and my colleagues should not feel afraid at work. It is disgraceful that nurses are ending up in tears before they have to go and provide emotional support to our patients. It is very difficult to do that if you are already in a state of distress because you are having to get changed in front of a male.

“I am a Christian, but these policies are and will impact every woman from every background.

“We will pursue this matter for as long as it takes to ensure women’s spaces are protected.”

Another Darlington nurse, Lisa Lockey, has said that the nurses were not consulted and were given no warning before ‘Rose’ began using the changing rooms.

She described how, when going into the changing room, it made her:

“Feel on edge scanning the room before you get changed. It was a shock when I first went in, and I heard a deep male voice. I stopped in my tracks, and I thought: ‘I’ve come into the wrong place’.

“We want safe spaces for everyone to get changed. We don’t want Rose to have to change in the toilets, they need to sort something for him.

“We went into nursing because we care about people, but we have been made to question ourselves and made to feel like bigots when we are no such thing.

“There are lots of trans people who do not pose a threat and we understand that, but with this policy there is no way to decipher who is good and who is bad. This is why we are doing it because there is no policy to protect us, not just in Darlington, but across the country.

“We are aware that transgender activists will probably hate us for what we are doing, but it is not against transgender people, this is about protecting female space.”

“I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder while getting changed”

Tracey Hooper said:

“The Trust are not looking at this issue as a safety aspect for women. As girls and young women, we were brought up to look after ourselves and to be careful. We should be able to feel safe in women’s changing rooms, but now we are being told that we should be fine putting ourselves at risk.

“I don’t want to get changed in front of a biological man and I don’t want to see him getting changed either.”

Another nurse, Annice Grundy said: “For me it is about wanting to feel safe. I don’t want to be panicking and looking over my shoulder while getting ready to work in a hospital caring for patients. We should not have to feel afraid. People say: ‘you are brave’ for speaking out, but why should it be brave to speak out on these issues, why should we even have to.”

What is the legal challenge?

The nurses are challenging County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust on the grounds of:

Violation of their Convention Rights under Article 8 ECHR (Respect for Private life)

Harassment

Indirect discrimination

Victimisation

The legal team

The nurses are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, which provides first instance legal advice, pastoral care and legal support.

Their case is being taken forward by Andrew Storch Solicitors, which has instructed barrister Niazi Fetto KC to represent the nurses in court.

The nurses are being advised in relation to the complaints raised against them to their regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and will be defended vigorously in any fitness to practise proceedings that may be brought against them.

Costs

It is very hard at this stage to predict what the final costs of this case will be. The nurses are advised that they need up to £500,000 to cover the costs of the employment tribunal proceedings, and to take the case as far as they can if they lose at this stage.

The nurses have already received significant financial and legal support for free. But there are big legal bills still to pay to cover their ongoing employment tribunal case. And they need to be defended against the complaints made to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. And – win or lose - if the case goes further up the courts, these courageous nurses will need your support to make sure they get the world-class support they deserve and need.