"Darlington Nurses" vs County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Tribunal Thread 6

[ThreeWordHarpy]

Thread 1, 7-Oct to 23-Oct; pre-hearing discussion, KD (day 1 of evidence) and BH (day 2).
Thread 2, 23-Oct to 28-Oct; BH (day 2), CH, JP, MG (day 3&4), TH, SS, ST, LL (day 4), JS, AT (day 5)
Thread 3, 28-Oct to 29-Oct; AT (day 5&6), TA (day 6&7)
Thread 4, 29-Oct to 31-Oct; TA, AM (day 7) JB (day 8)
Thread 5, 31-Oct to 04-Nov; JB (day 8), SW, CG, JR (day 9)

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. The hearing started on October 20th, with evidence starting on October 22nd and is scheduled to last 3 weeks. To view the hearing online requests for access had to be made by October 17th. The hearing is being live tweeted by Tribunal Tweets who have background to this case on their substack. An alternative to X is to use Nitter: nitter.net/tribunaltweets or nitter.poast.org/tribunaltweets

The Judge made clear at the start of the public hearing on Day 1 that only TT or press have permission to tweet. If online observers see/hear something in the court that isn’t reported by TT, we don’t mention it until the next time there’s a break. This is a very cautious approach to avoid any accusations of “live reporting” on MN. Commentary on the content of TT tweets is fine as soon as they’re posted on X.

Key people:
C/Ns - Claimants, the Darlington nurses
R/T/Trust - Respondent, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
J/EJ – Judge/Employment Judge Seamus Sweeney
NF - Niazi Fetto KC, barrister for claimants
SC - Simon Cheetham, KC, barrister for respondents
RH - Rose Henderson, trans identifying nurse
CG – Clare Gregory, NHS ward manager
SW - Sue Williams, NHS Trust HR
KD – Karen Danson, first claimant to give evidence.
BH – Bethany Hutchison, claimant
AH – Alistair Hutchison, husband of Bethany
CH – Carly Hoy, claimant
JP – Jane Peveller, claimant
MG – Mary Anne (aka Annice) Grundy, claimant
TH – Tracy Hooper, claimant
SS – Siobhan Sinclair, witness for the claimants, retired from Trust
ST – Sharron Trevarrow, witness for the claimants, retired from Trust, former housekeeper and wellbeing officer
LL – Lisa Lockey, claimant
JP – Professor Jo Phoenix, expert witness
JS – Jane Shields, witness for the claimants
AT - Andrew Thacker, NHS trust Head of HR
TA – Tracy Atkinson, NHS trust HR.
AM – Andrew Moore, NHS Head of Workforce Experience
JB – Jillian Bailey, NHS Workforce Experience Manager
AT – Anna Telfer, NHS Deputy Director of Nursing
SW – Sandra Watson, Matron for General and Elective Surgery
JR – Jodie Robinson, manager of Rose

Fraid your DH is wrong :-) When in the past we've had read-only links they've been rendered one page at a time in the browser, plus browser controls to navigate. No downloading of the whole document. Of course, anything my eyes can see my phone camera (for example) can too, so they can't in principle stop these documents leaking, but they can make it very painful to leak them.

Now, why we shouldn't be allowed to have copies is another question entirely, but it'll be bound up in history of tribunals...

Edit: I posted before reading your edit!

I’m not sure which ‘upthread in the link’ you mean, but we haven’t been given a link to RH’s witness statement.

I’m replying just in case you meant in the link I posted,

It's an article in a local paper, that is quoting from the WS, I think.

@fanOfBen wrote
When in the past we've had read-only links they've been rendered one page at a time in the browser, plus browser controls to navigate. No downloading of the whole document.

Do you mean we’ve had read-only links to court or tribunal documents? Interesting, and also would mean a precedent is there.

(about to go out, back in an hour)

From WS: “I only became aware of the claimants’ complaints about me using the female changing rooms in March 2024.

“This is when I first learned that they had organised an open letter about me, which gave my full name, and made some very personal comments about me and my personal circumstances.”

That’s different timing from what he said today?

Yes, at least twice. I don't remember which cases I'm afraid. Maybe Jo Phoenix's case was one? It was a right pain, though, with the server clearly not up to the demand - I wouldn't blame any firm of solicitors (it was solicitors hosting it) that said "never again". Plus it's really a bit pointless, as if anyone wanted to reproduce something in particular they could.

The link is to the local press article. Presumably a local reporter attended court where all the witness statements are available for viewing.

It would be worth paying for a data site in this case.

But as there has only been one request I don't see why they can't just email it across as they are doing with journalists.

I think they know they would be inundated with requests if one member of the public was sent a copy. Restricting it to press is consistent with most previous ETs.
Some claimants have published their witness statements of their funding pages.

Is that cos you've got 26 hundred Dollars -
in your hand?

Or do you feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive?

A bit sparse on the chip front. Did the cats steal the rest?

NF: She says, scrub top and boxers - consistent with your routine?
RH: Yes

Hang on, I thought you DIDN'T walk around in your boxers, Rose?

Apologies if this has already been posted (a round up of today):

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/25595653.transgender-nurse-centre-darlington-changing-room-tribunal/

Thereby proving that he has no idea whatsoever what it's like to be a woman.

As for the several comments along the lines of "I don't know who she is, so that didn't happen," it's quite possible I suppose that Rose didn't know their names as there were many of them, all female. Rose, on the other hand - just the one of him and he stood out like a sore thumb. They all knew who he was.

or has a case of Main Character Syndrome where everything revolves around Rose and everyone else is an NPC

AKA a trait of psychopathy.

Allison Bailey's case definitely had an online bundle that the observers could read, although that had its own issues. Hence the ongoing joke about mentioning the messed up bundle being used to summon RMW to a thread.

Must be an typo in some of these news reports. Darlington and Stockton Times and Northern Echo both say,

Since returning to work, Rose is now using a separate changing room and and the female changing facilities, the statement read.

Just catching up. The vague, uncertain way he has been discussing his boxers is so suspicious I'm now wondering if the holes were deliberate to harass.

Surely before all of this, if he wasn't trying to harass anyone if he found out his colleagues were complaining he'd sort through and chuck?

So say something like "yes after I heard about this I went through my underwear and replaced a couple with small holes in". Or whatever.

Following along to today’s tweets, I’ve had Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer(s)” stuck in my head. Quite appropriate that the refrain is: “Lie la lie… lie la lie lie lie la lie… lie la lie…”

I see you got there first. Presumably should read 'and not'.

Whoever wrote that piece has managed not to use any pronouns for Rose, ever. Well done that writer.

You swine!

Now I have it too.

Can I just add it also has the lines

"When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers"

Oh how true for Rose!

And..

All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

Why have none of the media reports of today's proceedings, linked above, mentioned holey boxers? Not even the hallowed BBC mentions holey boxers:

Darlington trans medic 'had a right' to use female facility - BBC News