NHS nurse suspended for calling trans identifying male paedophile “Mr”.
Jennifer Melle – an NHS nurse at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey – has been suspended and left in a state of legal limbo after calling the patient, a convicted paedophile, “Mr”.
In May last year, Jennifer was discussing with a patient – a paedophile who is an inmate from a high-security male prison – the use of a catheter when he took issue with her using male pronouns to address him.
As a Christian, Jennifer objected to his request and apologised to the patient, stating: “Sorry, I cannot refer to you as ‘her’ or ‘she’, as it’s against my faith and Christian values, but I can call you by your name.”
This resulted in the trans identifying paedophile prisoner racially and religiously abusing her, lunging at her and calling her a “n***” three times.
Despite the patient’s abusive and threatening behaviour, Jennifer was subsequently investigated and disciplined in October last year and given a final warning.
She was also referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council to assess whether she could practise in line with its code of conduct – which stresses that nurses should not express their personal beliefs.
Above all, Jennifer is being punished for holding and expressing a legitimate and legally protected view under the Equality Act 2010.
In April this year, the Supreme Court ruled that sex under the Equality Act is defined as biology, not gender identity. NHS trusts, councils and businesses have paid precious little attention to the ruling of the highest court in the land and continue to allow trans identifying men to use female-only facilities. Services await the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) pending updated guidance. Jennifer has criticised the Royal College of Nursing for stalling the judgement on her case as they await EHRC guidance.
Jennifer has worked in the NHS for 12 years and now feels that she has been punished rather than protected. Ms Melle stated: “My Christian faith teaches me that sex is immutable. I should not be forced to deny that truth to keep my job.
“The Supreme Court has spoken clearly: biological sex matters in law. Yet the RCN, an organisation that claims to champion equality, chooses delay over action. Nurses like me are left vulnerable while ideology trumps reality. This is not inclusion; it is discrimination.”
Jennifer is now suing the NHS trust, with the support of the Christian Legal Centre, for harassment, discrimination and breaches of her human rights.
After 12 years of dedicated service and considering the level of abuse that Jennifer was subjected to by the trans identifying paedophile patient, this is a truly shocking story. Nobody, in any profession, should be silenced for expressing their protected belief and free speech.
At the Free Speech Union, 40 per cent of the cases we deal with relate to misgendering.
You can read more in The Telegraph.