"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.

That is unusual for the BBC. Long may common sense return.

DON'T CROSS THE THREADS!

Who knows what might happen if they combine!

I think it highlights that he's still quite phsyically intact, and sexually attracted to women, and not really living as a woman if he is actually trying to do the most male thing he could do.

Was that an earthquake I just felt or was it just nauticant trembling?

That doesn’t bear thinking about!

Apologies

I wonder why the nurses aren’t also going after Rose for harassment? Surely there has to be consequences for the person at the centre these cases, not just the employer?

I think it is obvious from the re examination of the witness where she was asked if you needed a pin no to get to the second door, that the inference is RH put the sign there.

there is also the issue of RH counter complaint.

seems to me the defence is the same as i Peggie, only worse since there were 26 transphobes picking on Rose, ridiculous as this defence is.

I know this has been said before but it struck me forcibly again today with 3 simultaneous court events.
It is just astonishing that any of these matters got anywhere near a court. Twenty years ago even, the idea that a man could get undressed in a women's space and HE is the victim would have been thought utterly laughable.
That women are expected to put their careers, reputation and personal lives at risk to keep spaces single sex when for centuries this has been deemed appropriate for their privacy and dignity is beyond ludicrous.
That it is the NHS, whose only job is to deal with male and female bodies should be digging in its heels takes it to another level.
Thank God for all the fearless women in these cases.

So very true.
It also gives a chilling insight into the attitudes that certain powerful senior NHS staff have for women and our rights - and explains why the seriously appalling standards of maternity care in many NHS Trusts never improve.
Because too many of those in charge prioritise male wants and don't give a fuck about women.

I had to go onto the office today (v inconvenient!) and missed everything live. Have just about caught up with this and am about to read the other threads.

Thanks as always for the sterling work of Myrtle re: TT and others for explanatory (not live!) comments. 💐

I do get that, and it really shows how ridiculous the whole thing is. But even if he was in a bra (as we were told Dr. Upton was) and if he wasn't trying to get his girlfriend pregnant, he still wouldn't be 'living as a woman'.

Rose is a man. And Dr. Upton is a man. I'm so sick of all these entitled men and those who pander to them. There is no line that they can cross where they are suddenly 'living as a woman' and which means we have to accept them in our changing rooms. Although the line for NHS Darlington basically seems to be to announce you're a woman and off you go.

But yeah, I guess it is going to be difficult for people to call 'Rose' a woman with any sense of conviction.

Edited to say sorry that was in response to @Jimmyneutronsforehead

Fwiw reverse image searching that poster doesn't find any other examples, either.

That and the "fuckton of sellotape" suggest it might not be totally official.

My search shows the first appearance of the photo of the poster was in a tweet by the nurses' representatives in July 2024 very shortly after it appeared on the door. There's a reference to 'this week'.

I was just talking to my DS earlier, and he was complaining about how he and DDiL and baby were turfed out of the hospital in double-quick time, with DDiL still so weak he had to push her in a wheelchair. I think he was pretty unimpressed with current standards of maternity care. Sounded worse than our experience when he was born 40 years ago.

At the time the complaints were originally raised, we didn’t have the SC ruling and the party line from activists was that all self-identified transwomen were hyper feminine gay men who could never be a threat to women. In that environment, an obviously straight man self-IDing his way into the female changing room at work was even more egregious.

Mateysmum comment. It is indeed astonishing. Driving home the other night I was listening to the Bottom Line on the radio. It was all about the change to HR, once the humble payslip supremos in a small office, pretty much ignored. Now apparently, not only have the proportion of HR staff in any business rocketed, but they are involved in shaping policy and planning, therefore have become powerful in every enterprise. Before I switched off the programme to preserve blood pressure, it was becoming more obvious why they would go heavily for a culture which no one but them could claim to understand, so that their weird apparent expertise got them rocketed up the promotions ladder.

I am so looking forward to RH giving evidence. KD's evidence today started with photographs of him and finished iirc with the judge saying to her that everyone says RH looks like a man.

Let's see how he tries to gaslight the court with his 'l'm a woman' bollocks.

I was pondering the evidence today. And I pondered everything I read via TT re Peggie.

Fundamentally the TRAs position is going to fail. They are asking a court of law/ arbiter of truth to accept a lie.

• A man says believe I am a woman…. Simper simper. It’s just inherently dishonest.

• A woman says I am telling you what I am saying is true is because it reminded me of CSA in direct detail. It’s true because why else would she share such pain?

The reason why the TRA men are in deep trouble - is because people pretended to think TWAW but never really brought it. So they try other lies and are shocked to get caught out.

Rose is a liar. He is not a woman. So if he lied about that - what else? And the court knows he is a man and the judge referred to him as such.

The wait for the judgments in all these cases is hard - but I trust I’ll be worth it.

For logistical reasons I have to stay in hospital for one more night.

I hope to be going home tomorrow morning which will mean there will be a gap in live pasting TT. I don't know what time I will be going home and will paste as much as I can for as long as I can, then I will resume once I'm settled at home.

@MyrtleLion - I’ve been there so many times with the false dawn of a hospital exit. Discharge is a tricky business.

I am sure capable others are around but will kindly support cutting and pasting TT if of any assistance.

Are you sure that it is a fuckton of sellotape? to me it only looks like a shitton.

Only 2 of the 3 court cases are about toilets/changing rooms, the third is about victimisation.

I image Rose denying he was trying to get his wife pregnant is going to be part of the "they keep making things up" argument. If he is taking hormones or has been taking them recently he may be sterile anyway.

I'd assume the point about the sign is that someone official might have put it up - or Rose may deny having done it and say it indicates that some people were happy for him to be there.

Hope you can keep your clothes overnight, Myrtle, so you can be dressed and feeling more like yourself early tomorrow. I can remember once being asked to sit in the chair by my bed so they could strip the bed and begin to prepare to put someone else in it. I did feel a bit aggrieved by that, felt they should let me wait elsewhere or discharge me and let me leave.

And also the delightful Robin Moira White!

https://oldsquare.co.uk/people/robin-white/