The nurses \u2013 Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey, Karen Danson, Tracy Hooper, Annice Grundy, Carly Hoy and Jane Peveller \u2013 were supported by the Christian Legal Centre. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the centre, said: \u201cThis case sends a powerful message across the NHS and beyond that ideology cannot override those fundamental duties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hutchison, president of Darlington Nursing Union, said: \u201cWe have done this, not just for ourselves, but for our colleagues who were too afraid or unable to speak up, and for every woman and girl in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe raised our concerns because we believed something was seriously wrong, not just for us, but for the protection of all women in the NHS. Instead of being listened to, we were ignored, labelled, and subjected to pressure and intimidation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis outcome is a vindication of our stand for dignity, privacy, and common sense. We hope it ensures that no woman is ever again made to feel unsafe in her workplace for speaking the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
NHS trust \u2018did not get this right\u2019<\/p>\n
The Trust\u2019s letter to the nurses reads: \u201cWe recognise that we have a responsibility to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive working environment for everyone and the Tribunal\u2019s findings make clear that we did not get this right for you, for which the Trust expresses its sincere apologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also acknowledge that in our decision making, we did not adequately consider your concerns, formally or informally and we sincerely regret that we were unable to get this right.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn light of the judgment, we have reviewed our policies and the changes that have already been put in place and will consider what facilities are required to follow the Tribunal\u2019s findings in a way that is respectful to all of our colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter continues: \u201cThe Trust is committed to ensuring that we support all colleagues and is committed to doing so through our respective policies, procedures and actions as well as learning from the findings of this judgment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that this has been a difficult and distressing experience for you. We also recognise that, at times, your concerns were not fully heard or addressed in a timely or sensitive manner, and we regret the impact this had on you and colleagues who have been affected by this process and subsequent judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hate crime accusations<\/p>\n
However, the nurses face a potential investigation by the profession\u2019s regulatory body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The referrals were made in October last year at the height of the case, alleging \u201ctransphobia\u201d and \u201chate crime\u201d after the nurses spoke publicly about their concerns.<\/p>\n
During proceedings, the employment tribunal recognised that the nurses\u2019 actions in raising concerns and speaking to the media constituted a \u201cprotected act\u201d under equality law.<\/p>\n
Ms Hutchison added: \u201cWe were completely vindicated by the tribunal, including for speaking openly to the media about what was happening to us. Yet despite that clear ruling, the NMC investigations still hang over our heads like a shadow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is deeply distressing to remain under regulatory threat after being found to have acted lawfully and courageously. Nurses should never be punished for telling the truth about discrimination and safeguarding concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nurses \u2013 Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey, Karen Danson, Tracy Hooper, Annice Grundy, Carly Hoy and Jane Peveller…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[145692,7122,102,2960,2196,2059,50,200201,5438,52216,56,225,54,55],"class_list":["post-656740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-court-cases","tag-darlington","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-hospitals","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-nhs-national-health-service","tag-standard","tag-transgender","tag-uk","tag-uk-news","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}