Trans row nurse’s full emotional account of her ordeal: ‘It felt like there was a man watching me undress’

It was ‘simply accepted’ by management at Darlington Memorial Hospital that new hire Rose Henderson, a biological male, would use the women’s changing rooms.

There was no discussion with Rose, who identified as a woman and used ‘they/them’ pronouns, or indeed anyone else who worked at the NHS hospital.

One boss even suggested it would just be like having a ‘large woman’ around, so there was nothing to worry about.

A tribunal on Friday found this casual acceptance – which soon became a fiercely enforced policy – created a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment for eight female nursing colleagues.

Rose started working shifts at the hospital in late 2019 as a student operating department practitioner (ODP) from Teeside University. The university informed hospital bosses that Henderson was ‘transitioning’ and should therefore use the women’s changing rooms.

The tribunal heard this was accepted by management without discussion, assessment or engagement with Henderson or other staff.

Due primarily to the Covid pandemic, Henderson did not encounter any of the nurses who won Friday’s historic victory until 2023.

Meanwhile, cheered on by its LGBTQ+ staff network, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust had recently implemented a ‘Transitioning in the Workplace’ policy.

Six of the eight Darlington nurses (left to right): Carly Hoy, Karen Danson, Annice Grundy, Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey and Jane Peveller. In a landmark tribunal decision, a judge ruled NHS bosses had ‘violated the dignity’ of the eight female nurses

Transgender nurse Rose Henderson (pictured). It was ‘simply accepted’ by management at Darlington Memorial Hospital that new hire Rose, a biological male, would use the women’s changing rooms when she joined the hospital 

Staff were not consulted on the policy, which was first considered in 2016 and finally approved in February 2019. Its purpose was to ‘create a safe and productive workplace environment for all employees which supports transgender and non-binary employees’. It added that staff would be recognised as transgender ‘the moment a person informs us they are trans or intends to transition’.

The policy stated that staff would be permitted to use toilets and changing rooms that ‘match [their] gender identity’.

Initial concerns about Rose’s use of the women’s changing rooms came in July 2023 from staff working in the operating theatres. Email records show the human resources department acknowledged the concerns but took no action.

However, in August 2023, complainant nurse Karen Danson, 46, encountered Rose for the first time, recalling they ‘looked masculine, had facial hair, and there was nothing in [their] appearance to suggest [they were] anything other than a man’.

The following month, Ms Danson told how she encountered Rose in the changing room at close quarters wearing just nursing scrubs on their upper half and tight black boxer shorts with holes in them. The experience reignited childhood abuse trauma and left her ‘sobbing and shaking in a panic attack’.

She recalled: ‘I was rummaging through my bag trying to find the keys for my locker when I suddenly heard a male voice from behind my back asking, ‘Are you not getting changed yet?’

‘I simply said ‘No’. I kept rummaging through my bag and found my keys. Then Rose Henderson’s voice again said, ‘Are you not getting changed yet?’ I again said ‘No’. All I could think about was: ‘Why is this man asking me if I am getting changed? Is he trying to provoke me for a reason?’

Ms Danson said she began texting her husband, but as she was typing, Rose asked her the question for a third time, prompting a ‘fight or flight’ reaction.

The Darlington nurses celebrate following the landmark tribunal ruling. The explosive ruling ripped apart County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s trans policy, with the trust being accused of breaching the nurses’ human rights

Upon encountering Rose for the first time, nurse Karen Danson (pictured), 46, recalled they ‘looked masculine, had facial hair, and there was nothing in [their] appearance to suggest [they were] anything other than a man’

‘I could not move,’ she said. ‘I felt sick. My hands were sweaty.

‘I did not know Rose Henderson at this point, and I did not know that he identified as a woman. It just seemed like there was a man in our changing room who wanted to watch me undress. I was sobbing, shaking and breathing heavily due to a panic attack. Rose Henderson was smirking at me.’

In early 2024, it emerged that Rose had stopped taking female hormones and was trying to make their girlfriend pregnant. Jane Peveller, a part-time staff nurse, said she was told this by a colleague. Worried nurses wrote a letter to hospital managers, but nothing was done.

Mrs Peveller told the tribunal: ‘If it was correct it meant I would be getting changed next to a sexually active biological man.’

Another nurse, Vivienne Robinson, was left feeling concerned when Rose spoke about her breasts while she was pregnant.

Nurse Bethany Hutchison told the tribunal: ‘According to Vivienne, Rose Henderson said to her: “You do not look as big as this from behind”. Vivienne was shocked and made no answer. Rose Henderson then asked her: “Have you got those large pregnancy breasts”?’

In February 2024, ward manager Claire Gregory held a meeting with nurses to discuss their concerns. Lisa Lockey, one of the complainants, revealed she took off her top in the changing room and saw Rose looking at her. Another said the room was full of ‘bums and boobs’ and it was inappropriate for Henderson to be there.

Two months later, Ms Hutchison said Ms Gregory told her that hospital chiefs supported Rose – and that those who had a problem with it needed to be ‘educated, broaden their mindset and be more inclusive’.

Nurse Bethany Hutchison (right)  told the tribunal: ‘According to Vivienne Robinson, Rose Henderson said to her: “You do not look as big as this from behind”. Vivienne was shocked and made no answer. Rose Henderson then asked her: “Have you got those large pregnancy breasts”?’

Incredibly, Ms Gregory even suggested that Rose should be the one to educate them.

Ms Hutchison said: ‘I realised management were not going to support us and were going to label us bigots, unreasonable, unkind and not inclusive.

‘We have had to go through ‘kindness’ training because of this, and no one who is opposed is allowed to say anything.

‘I felt this was extremely unfair. This was the first time, during this long saga around the changing room, when I cried at work.

‘When Claire saw me crying, she tried to comfort me by saying something like, ‘Don’t be upset, it is what it is’.’

Despite all these concerns, a sign soon appeared on the door of the female changing room saying ‘INCLUSIVE CHANGING ROOM’. Nurses who were concerned were offered the use of a disused office instead. The tribunal heard it was small, unclean and cluttered with old office equipment.

Ms Hutchison said: ‘If we were to change in this room, we would have to leave our belongings in piles or in plastic bags on the floor, causing an infection and security risk.’

Andrew Thacker, director of workforce at the trust, dismissed the nurses’ concerns.

Nurses Tracey Hooper, Annice Grundy, Lisa Lockey and Bethany Hutchinson in their scrubs. Initial concerns about Rose’s use of the women’s changing rooms came in July 2023 from staff working in the operating theatres

He told the tribunal: ‘I have got no reason to believe that Rose being Rose and presenting the way that Rose is, is any different to having anybody larger than any individual in the changing room.’

After repeated inaction from the hospital, the nurses filed formal complaints with the tribunal in 2024.

A Supreme Court ruling last year that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in the Equality Act refer only to biological sex, reaffirmed the nurses’ conviction that the hospital’s actions flew in the face of reality.

They claimed sex-related harassment, indirect sex discrimination and victimisation. On Friday, they won a resounding victory on the first two claims.