"Darlington Nurses" vs County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Tribunal Thread

[ThreeWordHarpy]

Five nurses working at Darlington Memorial Hospital have filed a legal case suing their employer, an NHS trust, for sexual harassment and sex discrimination. The nurses object to sharing the women’s changing facilities with a male colleague, “Rose”, who:

• identifies as female
• has not undergone any physical or hormonal transition and has full male genitalia
• has cited inclusivity policies
• is backed by the trust’s HR department
• has been granted access to a single-sex changing room for women.

The NHS trust’s HR department dismissed the nurses’ concerns, stating they should “broaden their mindset” and “be educated”. More details can be found at Sex Matters

The hearing is due to start on October 20th and is scheduled to last 3 weeks. To view the hearing online email: [email protected] [[email protected]] requesting remote access to the case of 2501192/2024 Hutchinson and others Vs County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, starting 20th October. Also include your full name and your role in the hearing (eg member of the public or observer). Note, it is likely you will need the same full name and email address to log into the hearing, and the name will be visible to other observers.

The hearing will be live tweeted by https://x.com/tribunaltweets. An alternative to Twitter is to use Nitter: nitter.net/tribunaltweets or nitter.poast.org/tribunaltweets. Tribunal Tweets have more background to this case on their substack, including links to their coverage of the earlier hearings.

In earlier hearings reported at http://archive.today/nh5v9, the claimants were supported by the Christian Legal Centre and represented by Pavel Stroilov (solicitor) and Bruno Quentaville (barrister). The respondents were represented by Simon Cheetham KC. We do not know yet if the same representation will be in place for the October hearing

Background information from Christian Concern who are supporting the nurses via the CLC.

For balance - https://www.2tg.co.uk/profile/niazi-fetto-kc/

From TT

We will continue our live tweeting of evidence in the hearing of Ms B Hutchison & others v County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust at approximately 15:05.
Abbreviations, limitations of our reporting and links to our Substack are in the thread QT'd here.

[See my repastenof the abbreviations here: "Darlington Nurses" vs County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Tribunal Thread]

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I am hoping to be discharged this afternoon, but there needs to an arrangement with the outpatient antibiotics team first.

As they need the bed (currently one in, one out as they're so crowded), you'd think they'd be quick.

Maybe they will have found some handmaidens to tell the court what a lovely lady Rose is and how he just wanted to educate the misguided women. 26 complained of his presence and 7 or 8 will presumably be talking about how his behaviour in the changing room made them feel. But that should really only be speaking to the amount of damages because he should not have been there in the first place.

So it's clear RH's line is going to be the nurses are lying. SC has indicated that on several matters. RH never said those things and it's all a gossipy story spread by nasty mean girls who don't want to be friends with him.

It doesn't matter really though whether the man in question in this case was living as a man or not, whatever that can be taken to mean - it's not case by case, it is any man who self identifies or has a piece of paper. The question is should women as a condition of employment be forced to submit to removing their clothes in front of any man who invokes this over them? Because it is any man. The appearance and lifestyle of the man isn't relevant.

The Let the Nice One In approach.

From TT

We are waiting to be re-admitted to the CVP hearing.

I think it's more likely that SC is hoping to create an impression that fevered gossiping led to exaggeration, so that although they have no defence on some of the allegations, they want to minimise damages by creating doubt on the worst ones

I looked up the judge named by TT and apparently REJ Robertson retired on 1st May this year. The Judge who signed the direction relating to online observation was Judge Sweeney. @Justabaker do you know if it is Judge Sweeney presiding here?

The Sandie Peggie Benidorm FB chat approach then.

My comments on the boxers were meant to be in jest. There is nothing that proves anyone is living as a woman or indeed a man.

You are either a biological man or woman as sexed at birth and on your birth cert. No other markers are relevant. Rose as a man shouldn't be in a single sex changing room for women.

It's also irrelevant as to how lovely RH is and how horrible the women involved are: the point is that if it's one man then it's any man, lovely or not, and women should not have to take their clothes off in front of him. Even if he's absolutely fabulous, they still should not ever be in a situation where they are required to do this. And they can be mean, racist, rightwingextremistTrumplovingsmellyetcetc. Privacy from men cannot be something that women are permitted by test of virtue.

He is not going to get far with 'women who don't consent are transphobic and therefore don't matter/should be excluded'. That's a male-centric view to put it very mildly.

Exactly. I thought it was an important point you were making. People do try to argue that if this particular man is sincere, or lovely, etc etc, then women should not be permitted to refuse him.

RH is literally Naomi’s Pete.

'Look at all this fevered gossiping'

but also

'Don't look at the guy walking around the women's changing room in boxers'

From TT

We return.
SC will continue cross examination of KD.
SC - part of your complaint, R providing inadequate changing facilities, do you mean the locker room
KD - yes the locker room and the indv CR
SC - checking one thing with you, day surgery unit had a whatsapp group, excerpt

Boxers with holes in them

Are they being made exhibits?

I think girly fevered gossiping is something that exists in RH's head. Along with pillow fights.

Well, he knows he cant dismiss 20+ nurses as bigots

But is RH going to call them his 'big girl pants'? Please God.

’Girly fevered gossiping’😂

I don't understand why there is never really any justification of why it is Ok for a man to be using the women's changing room.

GI commentary seems to start from the position that this is perfectly natural state of affairs and no explanation.

All a bit emperor's new clothes. Baffling to me