"Darlington Nurses" vs County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Tribunal Thread 7

[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)
Thread 6, 04-Nov to 05-Nov; RH (day 10), SW (day 11)

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

This whole 'it's a policy can't change' also shows broader management failures which could pose direct risk to patients.

If there's a policy and evidence arises that that policy isn't working for some reason then that policy needs to be amended.

Management should also be able to act contrary to policy if there is a clear rationale to do so (and note it down and escalate).

They aren't supposed to be Commandments from Moses.

There were at least 2 people in the trust who spoke up in this process weren't there?

A female witness who said, 'isn't it our policy that is the issue?'

And a male exec who possibly left because of his straightforward take on the the illogical position the trust was taking? (And how it was recieved....is there another ET in the wings?)

Yup @KindleKlub that's what the Matron said in the tribunal evidence. I think they should just put her in charge like the old days and sack the rest!

Did this get covered by NF? I don't remember any cross examination about this.

In their May board they are giving progress updates on the following matters:

• Delivery of Sexual Safety in the Workplace Development session at March JCNC completed
• Sexual Safety Charter Working Group continues to meet regularly with a view to launching the elearning and communications campaign in May 2025
• Dignity at Work Policy updated and in place and includes sexual safety matters
• Monitoring against Health & Wellbeing Framework to keep people healthy at work and reducing absence with staff survey outputs.

Keep males sexually harassing your nurses out of the changing rooms. You improve sexual safety at work, you improve dignity at work and reduce absences as you teams don't have to go off with panic attacks due to sexual harassment in the changing rooms.

From the CLC article: "Rather than addressing these concerns, the Trust launched a counter-complaint from Rose and escalated threats of disciplinary action, delivered in person to nurses while on duty."

That's the crux of it, isn't it? Uppity women dared complain so Rose was presented as the REAL victim in order to bully the women into silence via a beating with the Progressive Inclusivity LGBTQIAWTF Stick.

I have a meeting for most of Friday morning <sulk>

Out of 8000 employees the employee groups comprised:

Unity & Ethnic Diversity – 138 members
LGBTQ+ – 56 members*
Disability and Long-term Conditions – 64 members
Faith – 24 members

The Darlington Nurses letter signatories were an interest group - and they should start a single sex staff network group - with a few nudges they'll be romping into first place.

*They also counted plus 279 Rainbow Badge Allies

If I understand the England and Wales system right, he doesn't have to cover it if both sides agree it happened. Otherwise, he can't put it in his final submission if he hasn't put it to the witness. Happy to be corrected.

They aren't supposed to be Commandments from Moses.

Three Hail Roses and 20 minutes genuflecting at the altar of progressivity for you, @OneCraftyMentor. The heresy!

And there's this too - https://christianconcern.com/ccpressreleases/nhs-trust-accused-of-turning-safeguarding-concerns-into-campaign-of-intimidation-against-female-nurses/ I'm working my way through them atm.

This is intriguing too. A busy lady our Susan Newton, and well paid too!

https://minhalexander.com/2023/04/26/finally-revealed-the-suppressed-susan-newton-report-on-whistleblowing-governance-at-hsib-nhs-england/

Not much "joined up thinking" going on at CDDFT.

With all those ongoing HR initiatives on "Sexual Safety" while at the same time HR is dealing with complaints about sexual harassment in the Female Changing Room, you would think someone would join the dots, or have the courage, to flag up that there were potential "sexual safety" issues arising from the Transitioning at Work Policy.

Only saying "potential" because of the blinkered way CDDFT has been carrying on. "Obvious from outer space" to anyone not brainwashed.

The QA team questioned whether the report fairly represented nurses’ concerns, noting the line:
“The original concerns were not about behaviour but that someone assigned male at birth was using the female changing room.”
In conclusion, Telfer said: “Overall, I found that the report was disappointing, in particular for an externally produced product which I would have expected to be more thorough and display more professional curiosity and detailed analysis. In my view it was verbose but not to the point, and the conclusions were not sufficiently clear or based on the evidence. I felt that the analysis in places was stunted, and I don’t think the author did enough in terms of the questions asked or the review of evidence to draw clear conclusions.”

This is a senior nursing figure from the Trust. Why are they even trying to defend anything?

Under 2024/5 not 2025/6.

Yes Noel Scanlon Executive Director of Nursing apparently retired in December 2024.

He wrote a letter telling the HR team to sort themselves out and actually address the matter.

From 2nd afternoon session of 28 October:

NF - to bundle - back in time a bit, exchange btwn you and Noel Scanlon
AT - former director of nursing, retired dec 24.

And press release by CLC

https://christianconcern.com/ccpressreleases/senior-nhs-executive-warned-of-politically-correct-nonsense-in-darlington-changing-room-policy-before-sudden-departure/

The email, dated 23 May 2024, was sent by the then Executive Director of Nursing, Noel Scanlon. It was sent to the Trust’s Director of Workforce, Andrew Thacker, who was cross-examined on its contents and context by the nurses’ KC, Niazi Fetto.
The email reveals deep internal concern about the policy’s implications. In the message, the executive wrote:
“This strikes me as entirely self-inflicted politically correct nonsense which will end up in the tabloids. If the individual is not respectful of his/her/their female colleagues then I think we do need to take management action as opposed to asking the majority of the female staff to make alternative changing arrangements which I believe is the advice Tracey and Andrea have given based upon our current policies.”

https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/about-us/news/cddft-bids-farewell-executive-director-nursing

Could it be as simple as not breaking ranks because otherwise you'll be out of the group and they'll punish you? I'm reminded of the way apostates are punished in various religions because this all has a cultish feeling to it. If you're lucky it's condemnation and ostracism but in certain religions it can be capital punishment for straying from the path of righteousness.

He seems a sound chap and a loss to this hopeless outfit

Lead Darlington nurse, Bethany Hutchison gave evidence, which went unchallenged by the Trust that a colleague:
“Told me that she had been in the changing room together with RH, whom she had never spoken to before. She said that it was just the two of them in the room. [She] was pregnant at the time and initially had her back to RH. When she turned around, RH said to her: ‘You do not look as big as this from behind.’ [The nurse] was shocked and made no answer. RH then asked her: ‘Have you got those large pregnancy breasts?’”
Swinging scissors and threats to pursue nurses
Evidence presented included reports of Henderson walking around the hospital swinging 15cm scissors in a manner described as “dangerous and threatening.”

This is from a Christian Ckncrn press release but I don't remember it being discussed in the hearing?

Some of this is uncontested by the Trust.

It is appalling.

@KindleKlub

No I don't think that was brought up. Shocking behaviour.

Not mentioned at all - but it won't have been because if uncontested no one would have mentioned it.

And there is no public access to the witness statements.

Presumably this stuff was in the witness statements that were only referenced in the tribunal, and not part of verbal testimony. The trouble with common sense is that The NHS hierarchy has very little of it.

Maybe RH does have dysmorphia and his intent interest in the nurses breasts arose from that rather than just being a standard pervert.

This obviously however is no way to behave, especially in a changing room.

But the judgement and summaries are going to be very interesting because AFAIK that's when it all gets pulled together. Popcorn for Monday duly ordered.

I’m not really following, just dipping in at intervals.

Well done Noel, what a shame they chose not to listen.

Rose, you’re a pervert and you were abusing the privilege you should never even have been given.

As for the scissor swinging, I could suggest what to do with swinging scissors.

As an aside- and it’s a bitchy one- isn’t this the man whose girlfriend was hoping to get pregnant? What was she thinking!

Bloody hell.