NHS Fife tries to silence nurse - Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton - thread #36

[nauticant]

Sandie Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy (VH), has brought claims in the employment tribunal against her employer; Fife Health Board (the Board) and another employee, Dr B Upton. Ms Peggie’s claims are of sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. Dr Upton claims to be a transwoman, that is observed as male at birth but asserting a female gender identity.

The Employment Tribunal hearing started on Monday 3 February 2025 and was expected to last 2 weeks. However, after 2 weeks it was not complete and it adjourned part-heard. It resumed on 16 July and the last day of evidence will be 28 July and then there will be 2 days of submissions from counsel meaning that the hearing will end on 30 July.

The hearing commenced with Sandie Peggie giving evidence. Dr Beth Upton gave evidence from Thursday 6 February to Wednesday 12 February.

Access to view the hearing remotely was obtainable by sending an email request to [email protected] by 5pm on Wednesday 9 July. Detailed instructions were provided here:

drive.google.com/file/d/16-9POEZ7yHWUr6EmbfquJZO18Gv78bSm/view

The hearing is being live tweeted by x.com/tribunaltweets and there's additional information here: tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/peggie-vs-fife-health-board-and-dr-005 and tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/peggie-vs-fife-health-board-and-dr-bd6. This also has threadreaderapp archives of live-tweeting of the sessions of the hearing for those who can't follow on Twitter, for example: archive.ph/WSSjg.

An alternative to Twitter is to use Nitter: nitter.net/tribunaltweets or nitter.poast.org/tribunaltweets

Links to previous threads #1 to #29 can be found in the header of thread #30.

Thread 30: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5375337-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-30
Thread 31: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5375819-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-31
Thread 32: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5376072-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-32
Thread 33: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5376608-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-33
Thread 34: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5377387-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-34
Thread 35: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5377598-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-35

The Herald appears to have left out the stuff that is on TT.

the next herald post is:
2:28pm
Dr Searle is asked about the rota for doctors. She says it's tricky to change as it's made up six months in advance. There can be informal swaps, but Dr Upton was not able to say why she was actually asking for a swap. Had to make up reasons.

They demand validation from everyone at all times. He isn’t frightened, he’s outraged.

Quite frankly doctors can now fuck the fuck off with their pay rise demands

Bad me that made me laugh!

As an aside this still doesn't stop it in the professional obligations to a patient, having been failed on that front as a patient unfortunately, but more generally I meant that the argument that he was bound to some code automatically makes him incapable of being a dipshit is daft.

From TT

KS Formal swaps tricky as no gaps in the rota as it's tight. It's hard to fill gaps
JR Yr email to ED, LC and Lauren: you discuss rota and no crossover shifts until Jan.
KS I compared the shifts of them both.
(JR) Did u need to move anyone then?
JR Did u need to move?
(KS) NO
JR Why cc to Lauren and ?
KS As they're responsible for the nurses rota
JR [new page] Email from Maggie to you re formal Gx from HR where she talks about another where dr was racially abused. Why did she mention this?

(not sure if there was something missed, doesn't seem to follow?)

KS Beth was going to think about it but I dont think she did report it
JR Yr email to Beth at 12.20: 1st bullet point -why did u say this?
KS Cos all of the consultants and senior nurses agreed w me that we condemned these actions

Fifer : did they aye? The investigation was awready done n dustit wi three emails and a 'catch up' chat. Case closed, get the guid calculator oot for the damages. The one wi 10 digits aye.

JR Yr email to Beth at 12.20: 1st bullet point -why did u say this?
KS Cos all of the consultants and senior nurses agreed w me that we condemned these actions

How did she know? But also, condemned WHAT actions, they were only allegations😠

KS is the orchestrator and ring leader of all this, it appears

I mean, a quick Whatsapp message saying sorry but not well/personal crisis and not able to do shift, can someone cover would generally do it (maybe not at Christmas). And calling the (dunno exactly what it's called) duty rota co-ordinator to say sorry, not well, you'll need to find locum cover if that doesn't produce any volunteers.

It would be awkward and no-one would love you for it, but these things happen. It's not rocket science.

(Just off out now so this is the last Herald post i can transfer. You can find it free on www.heraldscotland.com )

From herald
2:32pm
Asked why she wrote in her letter that "we condemn the actions of Sandie."
She said it was because no member of staff should face harassment in their place of work.

She’s so morally certain of herself isn’t she? I wonder if it’s going to come as a massive shock to them all when the tribunal decides they were all involved in the harassment and victimisation of SP?

I think a significant contributor to the language shift to female was Posie Parker's slogan "adult human female". The trans activists realised they had to seize that territory as well.

The problem wasn't his personal life per se, it's that he was lying when he 'brought his whole self to work', something I fundamentally disagree with. just be professional, and he wasn't. Lie in your own time, fine, lie in a work setting affecting others, not ok.

Naomi is going to have so much good stuff to work with thanks to JRs questions

Yes. The NMC code of conduct. Similar to the GMC. Honesty, integrity, acting within the scope of your competence , not bringing the profession into disrepute etc.

It seems Upton has failed on all counts.

KS We discussed the event, the 2 prev events which we wondered if a risk to patients

Not 'we discussed if there was any basis to the stories at all'.

@Boiledbeetle KS testimony will not finish today, there is too much to go through.

I know! She’d emailed the world and their dogs 😡

Yes, I expect that during the Case Management Hearing there would have been a shuffling around of the schedule going on.

If so, it might have been good manners to have announced the publicly.

And you know that Sandie's actions were definitely harassment because...?

NC's going to have a field day.

Calling themselves biologically female has made Mr Upton look a prize idiot.
It really makes him sound incompetent.

This just crystallised something for me, thank you. Reading so many threads has the effect of dulling my brain - it really is this simple. Leave it at home.

“we have to act w/out discrim and with kindness and compassion at all times.” Not to nurses though, eh?

KS Like the GMC, we have to act w/out discrim and with kindness and compassion at all times.

This is immediately after describing how they all had SP guilty of all sorts without even talking to her!

From TT

(JR) Why?
KS Cos no member of staff shld be subject to verbal abuse or harassment, in their place of work or outside work.

Fifer : boom there it is. Untouchable - be as weel tae piss on an electric fence as try and say onyhing aboot it.

JR In Jan on p281,
IB emails u on her return and suggested a chat
KS That didnt happen verbally
JR A response from a consultant to yr email. What did u make of it?
KS It confirmed my views re abuse and it's more upsetting from a collegue.
JR Did u discuss the Sx with ED before it happened?
KS We discussed the event, the 2 prev events which we wondered if a risk to pa
safety
JR When did this discusssion take place?
KS I dont recall exactly?
JR Where?
KS In the charge nurse office in ED
JR ANyone else there?
KS No. Just me and ED
JR [new page] Email 5 Jan to you refers to the NMC. Can u explain anything about it?
KS I dont recall
KS Like the GMC, we have to act w/out discrim and with kindness and compassion at all times. I dont recall this nor know if a referral to NMC was made.
JR {new doc] Response from MC to the consultants: what did u make of it?