Yet more disgraceful NHS behaviour against nurses

The patient was awful and I hope they get extra time for this.

If you deliberately, in earshot, opt not to respect someone's pronouns as their nurse I think this is disrespectful. The patient would have had probably 2 escorts and was in chains, it's not like she didn't know they could hear. If it was accidental it's a non issue but it sounds like it wasn't?

I'm totally for protecting women's spaces, but pronouns cost nothing.

The NHS is supposed to have a zero tolerance approach to abuse of and discrimination against staff. I don't see how it's possible to separate this man's claims about his identity from the crime of which is convicted, and forcing anyone to participate in that is abuse.

You may draw them in different places to others, but you are allowed to have boundaries.

There doesn't seem to be anything to say that she didn't treat him with respect and compassion. He overheard a conversation she had with a doctor, where she clearly needed to identify the patient's sex, and this then called down a racist abusive rant. Where is the respect there?

No - my role is to provide care, this is really core to being a HCP. Society can judge, my role is to treat and care for them and that alone. Rapport is important and part of the job.

There are nurses who work in prisons, they will need to work with people who have done awful appalling things and do so with respect and compassion. Hats off to them.

I came on to make a "But AcTuaLLy" joke but it seems some are already at that stage of the blame game.

That was quick.

You are having to deal with the penis of a racist convicted paedophlle who has claimed to be a teenage girl. Isn't there a point where there are parts of his identity that don't deserve respect?

In instances like this where genitals are relevant I will say something like, "identifies as a woman, has a penis".

"The patient's conduct was reprehensible. However that doesn't alter the fact that the nurse could have referred to the patient as first name, last name "and they identify as female"."

Surely it's better to be clear when discussing medical treatment.

This article https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/south-london-nurse-legal-action-nhs-transgender-row-b1218290.html states that she refused to use she/her pronouns, which is a different narrative to the DM one which read to me like she had a slip of the tongue?

An NMC referral is OTT and I'm surprised the Trust are doing this, I can't help but wonder if she has told managers she will continue to refuse to respect patients pronouns. If it is just as reported I'm not surprised she's suing.

FWIW I'm a nurse and I would feel uncomfortable with not respecting pronouns at work. Whatever your views on gender, and however much of a wrong'un the patient may be, starting a caring relationship by refusing to abide with their wishes isn't going to achieve very much.

I hope the patient's abuse was reported to the police.

He is a paedophile who posed as a teenage girl online to incite under age boys to perform sex acts.

At what point can it be recognised that to force staff to 'respect' his identity is a form of abuse.

I recall significant government disquiet about over 50s leaving the workforce post COVID and the impact on certain sectors.

Tanya de Grunwald talked in her most recent podcast about growing numbers of experienced HR professionals contacting her to say they’d had a gutful of gender ideology’s adverse impact on their work and are planning to exit the profession.

The NHS is built on dedicated nursing staff, the vast majority female, as well as other committed clinicians. It cannot afford to treat women this way. I would not blame nurses with looming retirement age, enough savings or other options for saying “fuck this shit” and walking away. Good luck recruiting to replace them!

Society will soon find out how much it depends on women’s collective unpaid graft if women withdraw their goodwill contributions. Disrespect us at your peril.

I hear you and I think it's notable that the culture at this Trust discourages a lot of very good staff from applying. The new Sutton Hospital was an opportunity for a seismic shift but it isn't happening now.

My experience of this Trust is that there is a cohort of local staff who are rough handed and rather nasty. I have seen them be rude across a variety of boundaries and experienced it.

So a hospital with a sexist culture punishes a female nurse for failing to kowtow to an aggressive male. I find that unsurprising.

This will not be as one sided as is being presented.

Yes, we're certainly missing the valuable racist paedophile perspective.

What’s the purpose of signs like this? 🤔 hmmm image didn’t show!

I've worked there (and never would again).

I reckon the ethnicity of the nurse is a significant factor here.

This will not be as one sided as is being presented.

People have said the same thing about many of the recent tribunal cases until it turned out that the tribunal evidence did show it was as one sided as the claimant initially said

Hopefully this highlights the ridiculous notion of men pretending to be women. It's disgraceful that the nurse has been treated this way. It makes me embarrassed to work for the NHS.

Hmm. The patient's conduct was reprehensible. However that doesn't alter the fact that the nurse could have referred to the patient as first name, last name "and they identify as female". That would have been correct and would have conveyed an accurate message. It would not have compromised the nurse's religious beliefs. From what I have read, it seems to me that the nurse was making a point and not doing it particularly respectfully.

This will not be as one sided as is being presented. I say that as an individual who has little time for the ingrained cultures and behaviours at this Trust which are far from optimal and often non co.pliant with the EA (2010).

Edited to add: this was supposed to be a quote reply to @RosesAndHellebores

I took the article's description of the events to mean that she referred to the patient as "a mister", not "Mr X" i.e. a commonly heard colloquial way of saying "a man".

"In the eyes of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust, the greater sin was that Ms Melle had referred to Patient X – who was born male but now identifies as a woman – as ‘mister’ and ‘he’ during a phone call with a doctor. It was this which prompted Patient X’s aggressive outburst."

However, it's ambiguous and I fully accept that's supposition on my part. If the nurse had said "Mr X", ideally the article would have written it like that.

Either way, the nurse didn't say anything wrong because she was talking about a male patient's clinical care. We have no reason to believe that this particular nurse speaks about women any differently, either colloquially or as Mrs/Miss/Ms X.

It sounds like your concern about the hospital's treatment of women in general is a related side issue to this case. The main issue here is how the nurse has been abused by a patient and then treated in a way that is unlikely to be lawful by the NHS.

Apologies - I took a swipe at the RCN above - which although completely accurate - is not the organisation seeking to sanction Ms Melle - that's the NMC

BonfireLady

The law needs to recognise that there are bad actors, who use their stated belief to oppress others and, in some cases, demand that others accept their belief as fact. Thankfully Christians haven't done that for a while.

Absolutely. We know that it has been ruled in Maya's EAT that correctly sexing a person is WORIADS. In this case, it was vital, because she was seeking advice from a doctor who was not present.

To me, this is a terrible abuse by the hospital and NMC, I don't see how they can hope to win, once they've taken legal advice. The NMC needs to be gutted, root and branch, to get rid of the howling zealots.

This is appalling in so many ways but just looking at the legal side I was surprised to see NHS lawyers claiming that her beliefs are not worthy of respect in a democratic society. If they try to argue that in tribunal it's not going to work is it?

In a phone call to a doctor about removing a catheter from a male patient, of course a nurse needs to be accurate about the sex of the patient. The fact that the nurse is pilloried for this with an aggressive convicted paedophile being allowed to be openly racist and then pandered to, is symptomatic of skewed priorities.

This speaks to evidence of the NHS being infiltrated by some very dodgy people. A number of NHS trusts have policies written to specifically to ensure male born paedophiles / sex offenders are able to access women's wards. Presumably this also applies to the RCN which also has a dubious history in relation to sexual abuse of women (see below)

We need to look at the big picture which is becoming hard to ignore. The reason Ms Melle is being sanctioned & women staff & patients are being compelled to undress and sleep alongside so many men is because a paedophile's demands matter more to the NHS than the rights and safety of women. Which is terrifying.

Press reports of the above because both sound so unbelievable:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9854261/Convicts-born-male-identify-female-placed-women-wards.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/oct/10/bullying-misogyny-and-sexual-culture-at-royal-college-of-nursing-inquiry-finds

A copy of the Twitter thread:

BREAKING: CHRISTIAN NURSE TAKES LEGAL ACTION AFTER BEING INVESTIGATED BY NHS FOR CALLING 6FT TRANSGENDER PAEDOPHILE 'Mr'

The convicted paedophile, ‘Mr X’, is in a high security male prison after multiple convictions for luring boys into sex acts while pretending to be a teenage girl on social media.

After refusing to refer to Mr X as a ‘she’ while on duty, Jennifer Melle was racially abused and physically threatened.Instead of supporting her, however, Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust has abandoned Jennifer and treated her like the criminal.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has also said Jennifer is ‘a potential risk’ for not using Mr X’s preferred ‘gender identity.’

The story is the latest in a series of cases where NHS policy supports trans ideology over biological reality. It also follows the publication of the Sullivan report this week which revealed that the police are allowing criminals to ‘self-identify’ their gender on official records.

In this case, policy has led, in the name of inclusivity, to the NHS siding with a paedophile convicted of serious offences, while pretending to be the opposite sex, over members of staff with Christian and gender-critical beliefs.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the case Jennifer has now launched against the Trust on the grounds of harassment, discrimination and human rights’ breaches, is believed to be unprecedented.

In response to her claims, NHS lawyers have said that Christian beliefs Mis holds, that we are born male and female, are ‘not worthy of respect in a democratic society.’

Watch Jennifer discuss what happened and see more on our website: https://christianconcern.com/ccpressreleases/christian-nurse-takes-legal-action-after-being-investigated-and-punished-by-nhs-for-calling-convicted-transgender-male-paedophile-mr/

On the night of May 22, 2024, Jennifer began her shift at the hospital, where a Pride Progress Flag—symbolising support for transgender rights and gender identity affirmation—flew from the rooftop.

Miss Melle, who came to the UK from Uganda as a child, and has worked her way up to become a senior nurse, had been told along with her colleagues that Mr X had been brought in for treatment from a Category C men’s prison and was a sex offender.

He entered the hospital chained to two guards and was clearly masculine in appearance, standing over six feet tall and of large build.

At 10pm, a junior colleague approached Miss Melle in a distressed state saying that Mr X wanted to self-discharge. He was shouting and upsetting other elderly and vulnerable patients on the ward.

The doctor had been called for guidance on the discharge but had not yet responded. As the senior nurse on the ward, Jennifer followed her colleague to take charge of the situation and to provide support.

Looking at the patient’s medical records, she saw that the patient was recorded as male, not female or transgender. On the name board next to the bed, it simply gave the feminine name.

With her colleague finally getting through to the doctor on the phone, Jennifer requested to speak to him. She said to the doctor that: ‘Mr X would like to self-discharge.’

Overhearing the call, enraged Mr X screamed: “Do not call me Mr! I am a woman!”

Still on the phone to the doctor, Jennifer called back to Mr X that she was speaking to the doctor and was working out what medication could be given before he was discharged.

Finishing the call, she approached the patient’s room. Stepping inside, Jennifer found Mr X pacing up and down in chains.

Jennifer politely said: ‘I am 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.’

She then began to relay what the doctor had said, but then the abuse and vitriol escalated.

‘Imagine if I called you n∗∗∗∗∗’, Mr X yelled. ‘How about I call you n∗∗∗∗∗? Yes, black n∗∗∗∗∗!’

Jennifer said if he carried on, she would have to call security.

Mr X then lunged threateningly towards Jennifer and pursued her out of the room until he was eventually held back by the guards.

He then shouted: ‘I want your name and NHS number and am going to report you to the police for homophobia and to Patient Advice and Liaison Service’ (PALS).

One of the guards approached Jennifer and said: ‘Why can’t you just call him what he wants?’

Jennifer reiterated what she had already said about her Christian beliefs, and the guard said no more.

Returning, Jennifer said, using Mr X’s feminine name: ‘I got you your pain relief.’

After having the painkillers, Mr X calmed down and was quiet until the morning.

https://christianconcern.com/cccases/jennifer-melle/

Afraid and upset, but keeping it inside, Jennifer handed over to colleagues on the next shift but felt unable to speak to anyone about what had happened.

Shortly after arriving home, Jennifer received a call from a colleague who had taken over her shift. They said that Mr X had been shouting for her and repeating the threat that he was going to make a complaint to PALS.

Sleepless nights followed.

The next time Jennifer was on night shift, she was pulled aside by a ward manager and asked to make a statement about what had happened.

After Jennifer relayed that she was still feeling impacted by the racial and potential physical attacks, she was told that despite that she still had to respect “equality and diversity” according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council code of conduct.

Jennifer said she had no issues with people’s sexuality but also asked where the respect was for her Christian beliefs and said that she ‘could not deny biological reality’.

As a Christian, Jennifer believes that the Bible is unambiguous about human sex, as it is written in Genesis 1:27, that:‘So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.’

Over the next few days Jennifer said she felt pressured to provide management with a statement.

She was then told that she must attend a meeting with HR and that if she refused to comply, she would be sent home until an investigation was completed.

She was then redeployed to another unit, which she found this to be hurtful and demeaning.

An investigation report subsequently concluded that: ‘the Code of Conduct outlines that in order to treat people as individuals and to uphold their dignity nurses should avoid making assumptions and should recognise Diversity and individual choice.’

The report cited the NMC Code of Conduct which states that nurses should ‘not express your personal beliefs (including political, religious or moral beliefs) in an inappropriate way. Therefore, although [Jennifer] felt unable to identity Patient X using the preferred pronouns due to her religion, as outlined in the NMC Code of Conduct, it could be perceived that [Jennifer’s] actions could…be seen as a potential breach of the code.’

She was accused of ‘not respecting the patient’s preferred identity’ and told her actions and behaviour had ‘fallen short of the Trust’s value of Respect’.

Summoned to a disciplinary hearing in October 2024, Jennifer was given a final written warning and has been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Since the incident, she has been moved to another ward and effectively demoted. Her name was wiped off the internal system, making it difficult to apply for extra shifts at the hospital.

Her capacity to earn much needed extra money was therefore removed and she and her family have suffered as a result.

Under severe pressure within the system, and with her career and livelihood under investigation and at serious risk, Jennifer faced no alternative but to file a legal claim on the grounds of harassment and direct discrimination.

She says that the NHS has unlawfully interfered with her rights under Article 9 ECHR to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, especially with her right to manifest her religion by seeking to compel her to use preferred pronouns.

Jennifer’s case follows other high profile legal cases involving nurses in Darlington and Scotland taking legal action against the NHS over being forced to undress in female changing rooms in front of men ‘identifying’ as women.

Jennifer, whose story is on the front page of the Mail on Sunday today, says she has never had any issues with any transgender patients previously, said: “I am devastated by how I have been treated and believe I am being institutionally abused, harassed, bullied and racially discriminated against.

“Ever since I have expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman.

“I do not feel supported by my colleagues, or the NHS, following the racial abuse and threat of physical violence I received from the patient. I remained professional throughout and always treat each and every individual with dignity and respect.

“My conduct throughout this incident and during my career has been fully compliant with the code.

“I have been put at risk, but I am being treated like a criminal. Sadly, if you put your head above the parapet and speak truthfully on these issues in the NHS the risk is that you will be knocked down, punished severely and demoted.

“The message to me during the investigation is that I should put up with extreme racism and deny biological reality and my deeply held Christian beliefs, for the sake of ‘inclusivity’ and respecting lies.

“It feels like I am dreaming, but I am trusting in Jesus to look after me. I have to take a stand on this issue and am concerned about how many other NHS workers are suffering in silence during similar experiences.”

Andrea Williams, Chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre which is supporting Jennifer, said: “The NHS appears to remain captured by transgender ideology to the point it is prepared to back a convicted paedophile, who was clearly very disturbed and shouting racist comments, over the Christian nurse.

“Jennifer Melle was genuinely doing her best while not wanting to deny her Christian faith and biological reality.

“We thought we had seen it all when it comes to controversial legal cases on these issues, but what Jennifer Melle is experiencing at the hands of this ideology is off the scale and on a whole new disturbing level.

“Jennifer loves Jesus and is a talented nurse who should be supported and protected, not investigated and silenced.

“The Trust cannot force compelled speech on their staff and an urgent U-turn and apology is needed.

“We would ask Wes Streeting, as health secretary, to investigate what is happening here. He is already involved in the Darlington nurses’ case, and has previously said he is ‘horrified’ by how they are being treated. It’s time for government intervention on this matter.

“It’s time for the government to stop equality and diversity policies being weaponised in the NHS to punish innocent nurses just doing their job.

“We will stand with Jennifer for as long as it takes for her to receive justice and with any other nurses who are discriminated against due to this dangerous ideology.”

If you are concerned by Jennifer's story, please share it and consider supporting Jennifer and her legal team here: https://mailchi.mp/christianlegalcentre.com/stand-with-jennifer-melle

We and Jennifer value all support and prayer as we pursue justice in this matter 🙏