NHS bosses wanted nurses to be schooled about transgender issues by the same biological male colleague they had complained about after he insisted on using the female changing room, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
At a long-awaited industrial tribunal beginning on Monday, nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital will claim that self-identifying trans colleague Rose Henderson stood in their changing room wearing tight black boxer shorts, intimidating them and making them feel uncomfortable as he stared at them and commented on their breasts while they got undressed.
When the frontline nurses repeatedly protested to managers at Darlington Memorial Hospital, they were stunned to be told they had to be educated by Henderson to become more inclusive, the keenly-anticipated tribunal will be told.
Eight nurses on the hospital’s day surgery unit are claiming that their employer, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, failed to respect their right to privacy by insisting Henderson had the right to change in the female dressing room, and will also claim sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation.
The Mail on Sunday broke the story of the nurses’ plight last year to a national outcry.
Ms Danson, the victim of sexual abuse as a child, was left shaking after Henderson, dressed only in a scrubs top and boxer shorts with holes in, asked her three times in quick succession: ‘Are you getting undressed yet?’
Ms Danson is expected to tell how she thought Henderson was a new male member of staff as he looked masculine, had facial hair and there was nothing in his personal appearance to suggest he was anything other than a man.
In a further twist, Henderson, who has not undergone any physical or hormonal transition, despite identifying as female, recently exchanged vows with a woman in a celebrant-led wedding ceremony.
At a tribunal beginning on Monday, nurses (pictured, four of them, L-R Tracey Hooper, Annice Grundy, Lisa Lockey and Bethany Hutchinson) at Darlington Memorial Hospital will claim self-identifying trans colleague Rose Henderson intimidated them in their changing room
The MoS has previously reported how Henderson had told others at the hospital he was not taking any hormonal treatment as he was trying for a baby with his partner.
The tribunal, which is expected to last until mid-November, will also hear how Henderson questioned nurses who refused to get undressed while he was in the room. Those who did get changed claimed he took a keen interest.
The nurses – Karen Danson, Bethany Hutchison, Joanne Bradbury, Mary Annice Grundy, Lisa Lockey, Carly Hoy, Tracey Anne Hooper and Jane Peveller – will say that when they did complain about Henderson’s presence in the female changing room, their complaints were brushed off.
They were threatened with suspension from the Nursing and Midwifery Council and were told they could be sacked by hospital management.
The nurses previously said they suffered backlash from managers after launching legal action.
The Newcastle Employment Tribunal will hear from 24 witnesses. Among them will be Rose Henderson.
