NHS Fife tries to silence nurse - Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton - thread #55

[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 was 29 July 2025. It resumed again over 1 to 2 September for closing submissions.

The hearing commenced with Sandie Peggie giving evidence. Dr Beth Upton gave evidence from Thursday 6 February to Wednesday 12 February 2025. Sandie Peggie returned to give more evidence on 29 July 2025.

Access to view the second part of the hearing remotely was obtainable by sending an email request to: [email protected]

The hearing was 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 #50 can be found in this thread: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5379717-sandie-peggie-list-of-threads-covering-employment-tribunal-and-afterwards

Thread 51: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5402652-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-51 1 September 2025 to 2 September 2025
Thread 52: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5403218-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-52 2 September 2025 to 4 September 2025
Thread 53: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5404208-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-53 3 September to 1 October 2025
Thread 54: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5418690-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-54 from 28 September 2025

I believe there are some incredible,people on this thread (?) who collected data about hospital trusts’ changing spaces policies. I was recently told that a male employee at the Royal Devon and Exeter in the past expressed an intention to use the women’s on the basis of self-ID, and was told No. I’m just wondering if that’s true? Only curiosity on my part

Many organisations will have re-visited policies folowing the SC judgement. You'd need to check the policy in place at the time the request to use facilities was made.

Definitely before the judgement

I’m really hoping that there will be a judgement this week…..

Is there a “day of the week that judgements are most likely to be published” does anyone know?

I am wondering if the Sandie v NHS Fife judgement will be mysteriously released around the budget and buried...

I remember that! it was the Friday when squirrels on RedBull somehow managed to take control of NHS Fife media dept. and put out the kind of statement that only squirrels on RedBull could possibly think was a wise move....😏

If it's released this week it will definitely get buried in the budget. Next week would be better.

Given the likely bin fire the budget is likely to be, it might actually be that losing the ET is better news than what's in the budget and they're grateful for it as a distraction!

I was hoping that because that Fife high heid yin had jumped the outcome would be imminent - I suspect my optimism may have been misplaced

I hoped that the Fife judgment was imminent when NC skipped court on a Friday morning in Belfast, my thinking being that Dr Elves could handle the recusal application with both hands tied behind her back.

Tomorrow works for me

I thought that too but it does make sense that they’d have the terms of her deal agreed well in advance. Even if they win it ain’t going to ,look pretty for them and they must know that, or the lawyers would be sensible in advising that. I think the high heidyin is still in position for a wee while so maybe timed to see the judgment published but leave the response to new broom?

If she resigned announced her joyful retirement on Friday and NC skipped court on Friday does this mean…

gah... I thought the other thread was a bit quiet 😂 checking in!
Hopeful for a result early next week....

Yes, Fife and the good doctor deserve top billing in headlines and front pages

Just wondering what the doctors who do the surgery think? Apart from £££ in the private sideline?. Why would a female with breast cancer trust someone who whips healthy breasts off young women?
Those reddit sites are interesting. I always thought period pains were down to having a uterus, hormones, lining shedding etc. But no! Just hrt and living your authentic self apparently.

@Totallygripped People can (and many do) get psychosomatic pain. So maybe this is due to wishful thinking rather than hormones. (Not that wishful thinking has anything to do with most other people's psychosomatic pains.)

It could just be a lack of fibre.

More than a wee while - she's not going til September next year.

Potter announced retirement last Monday, so that no longer looks to be directly connected to an embargoed decision.

I like to imagine that her retirement plans actually weren't quite finalised, but the Comms Team hit the upload button prematurely in a repeat of the July Press Release debacle.

Actually, I just remembered the bi-monthly (every 2 months) NHSFife Board meeting takes place today Tues 25th. So they may have released the press statements to coincide with the papers for that meeting being sent out to attendees a week in advance (incuding any press attendees). And whatever other machinations are going on, it gives the Chair the opportunity begin the meeting by saying nice things about Potter's achievements as CEO, and deflect from at least some of the shitstorm that is going on all around them.

I saw reported somewhere that she signed off the infamous Press Release, so could her decision be related to the new Peggie case in which her role would have to be disclosed?

Where was that reported? It certainly seems likely that she and the entire Board were either involved or hiding in a sealed bunker over the weekend that the press release was released and re-released, and discussed in almost every part of the press.

But the Courier is still today reporting on attempts to have related info disclosed. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5380171/nhs-fife-sandie-peggie-statement-transparency-watchdog/

It's fabulous the ICO are picking this up as the appalling Friday afternoon press statement and the decisions around that show a level of organisational incompetence that was shocking even when made by NHS Fife when I'd sat and listened to weeks of evidence of organisational incompetence!

Good on the ICO. Intrigued to see how all this plays out.

Now, c'mon big Sonny, get that judgement released!

Big Sond is never late. Neither is he early. Big Sond delivers exactly when he means tae.

'Mon the big law neebor, the high heid yin, the yin an ainly, Biiiiig Sondie - the Law Laird o Dundee toon.