Darlington nurses

The Darlington nurses were told they needed to ‘broaden their mindset’ and be more ‘inclusive’, because they didn’t want to share a changing room with a biological male identifying as a woman

Courageous female nurses are speaking publicly following the launch of a landmark legal case against an NHS Trust. After asking not to share a changing room with a biological male identifying as a woman, they were told they needed to ‘broaden their mindset’ and be more ‘inclusive’.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, a group of nurses working at Darlington Memorial Hospital, which comes under the control of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, have filed legal action against the Trust for sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

The male operating department practitioner, who has been sharing a changing room with the female nurses, openly says that he does not take female hormones and is trying to get his girlfriend pregnant; however, he also says that he ‘identifies’ as a woman and is called ‘Rose’.

After 26 nurses wrote to the Trust raising concerns, HR bosses said that they supported ‘Rose’ and that the nurses needed to get ‘educated’ and ‘compromise’. They said that the mere fact that ‘Rose’ says he identifies as a woman means that he can use the female changing rooms.

After outstanding public support for their case, the nurses have now launched their own trade union, the Darlington Nursing Union, to defend the rights and dignity of women at the workplace.

The nurses handed in a CitizenGo petition signed by 48,000 people to Number 10 Downing Street that called for the government to do whatever is necessary to ensure women have access to single-sex changing rooms and toilets.

The importance of their challenge has also been vindicated by a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, who confirmed he is committed to ensuring that the belief that sex is biological will be reflected in the day-to-day running of the NHS under his watch.

The Shadow Equalities Minister, Claire Coutinho, also met with the Darlington nurses and said that equality and diversity policies need revising, not just in the NHS, but in workplaces across the country.

Most recently, the Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has given her full support to the Darlington nurses after meeting them in Westminster. She said “A woman should never be forced to get undressed in the presence of a man. The case of the Darlington Nurses is yet another example of women being demonised and patronised for raising legitimate concerns about single-sex spaces… There is no place for gender ideology in the NHS. These brave nurses have my full support in their fight to restore common sense to an environment where single sex spaces should be non-negotiable.”

Despite having 18 months to investigate the nurses’ claims, and 10 months since the launch of their legal claim, the County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust made another application to adjourn the hearing, claiming it has not had enough time to complete its internal investigation.

Judge Robertson, said the Trust had ‘failed’, that its actions were ‘wrong’ and had ‘Subordinated [employment tribunal proceedings] to an independent investigation.’

Nonetheless, he ruled that an adjournment was necessary and the full hearing is now likely to be heard in October 2025.

Key links

• Nurses forced to share changing room with trans colleague
• Safe spaces for women: nurses speak with Health Secretary
• Darlington nurses meet with Shadow Equalities Minister, Claire Coutinho
• Shadow Health Secretary ‘horrified’ by Darlington case
• Nurses challenge harassment by male ‘trans’ colleague
• Darlington nurses send guidance for protecting NHS single-sex spaces
• No anonymity for ‘Rose’ in Darlington Nurses’ case
• Kemi Badenoch meets Darlington nurses: “No place for gender ideology in the NHS”
• Judge in Darlington case: ‘If Trust does not comply, it does so at its peril’