Rose gives evidence at Darlington nurses’ hearing
4 November 2025 Issued by: Christian ConcernToday at Newcastle Employment Tribunal, Rose Henderson has given evidence in Darlington nurses’ case against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
The hearing has raised urgent questions about staff safety, professional boundaries, and the Trust’s handling of complaints and serious safeguarding concerns.
The nurses’ case, which has been supported by the Christian Legal Centre, argues that the Trust’s policy of granting access to female changing rooms based on self-declared gender identity, without consultation or risk assessment, amounted to indirect sex discrimination under the Equality Act.
Forcing women to share intimate spaces with an “evidently sexually functional biological male” violated their dignity and created an intimidating, hostile, and humiliating environment, constituting harassment.
The Trust ignored complaints for nine months, failed to provide adequate alternative facilities, and later treated the nurses detrimentally for raising concerns and speaking to the media, amounting to victimisation.
The policy breached Regulation 24 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, which requires separate changing facilities for men and women “where necessary for reasons of propriety.”
The nurses’ Article 8 rights to privacy and dignity under the Human Rights Act were engaged and unlawfully interfered with.
Background
Henderson qualified in October 2022 and he said his ‘confidence grew’ from this point after he begun using the female changing rooms at the hospital since 2019, while still a student.
He told the Tribunal his confidence grew significantly after this date and since then, he would talk to colleagues while in the female changing room “a lot”. Concerns from staff were first formally raised in August 2023, when multiple nurses reported discomfort and inappropriate behaviour in the female changing rooms.
The changing room is used by 300 women, some as young as 18.
The Claimants allege that the Trust’s policy of granting access to female changing rooms based on self-declared gender identity, without consultation or risk assessment, violated their rights under the Equality Act and health and safety legislation.
They claim indirect sex discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, arguing that the Trust failed to protect their dignity and privacy, ignored their complaints for nine months, and treated them detrimentally after they spoke out.
‘I have dysphoria’
In his testimony, Henderson acknowledged experiencing both “top dysphoria” and “bottom dysphoria,” stating:
“I am very conscious about my bottom half when changing. I do wear what some people call boxer shorts. This is because I have the anatomy which requires them, unfortunately.”
He also admitted: “I have top dysphoria about my lack of breasts.”
Henderson further noted: “I appreciate that I have a very deep voice.”
Contradictory Testimony
Earlier, nurse Jane Shields gave evidence and told the tribunal she came across Henderson “frequently” in the changing room. She added: “It was very clear from his appearance and the clothes that he wears that he is a male. Once I noticed Rose have a shower and then dry himself publicly in the changing room where everyone could see him, although there is space within the shower cubicle to get dressed after a shower. I never saw him fully naked; he would be wearing boxer shorts. But I felt that he wanted to be observed, and he wanted to be noticed. He would stand there in his boxer shorts, very obviously a male. Not many of the women use the shower facilities.”
Rose has also denied that he has stopped ‘transitioning’ and has denied trying to get his partner pregnant.
In the internal investigation that followed the nurses’ raising concern, a close colleague and ally of Henderson who was interviewed in Henderson’s request, described him as “a lovely lady”. However, when asked whether Henderson told her he was trying to impregnate his partner, the nurse replied:
“Yes, but via removal of eggs and sperm collection.”
A Quality Assurance review has flagged this as a major concern:
“Rose Henderson has made no secret of the fact that he has stopped taking female hormones in order to impregnate his partner and is therefore a sexually active male.”
Despite this, the independent investigation dismissed the issue as an “unfortunate rumour,” even though Norris confirmed the claim.
Henderson denied ever telling colleagues he had stopped transitioning, stating:
“Never. I have never had a conversation with anyone about stopping transitioning. I am not trying for a child and I have never said that. I have had conversation with Theatres staff about how theoretically I could have children. I have not told people that I have stopped transitioning. I did not start hormone treatment until about a month ago due to the waiting list.”
Multiple concerns from female nurses
Multiple nurses testified that they felt distressed and uncomfortable sharing changing facilities with Henderson, citing visible male anatomy and inappropriate conduct.
Even senior staff members who support Rose have corroborated these concerns, with Theatre manager, Tracy Wainwright, noting:
“Someone said that when Rose bent over you could see body parts.”
Wainwright has also said: “Staff struggle as this member of staff is not transitioning and a lot of our international staff struggle with her in the female changing room.”
The nurses bringing the claims have also alleged inappropriate behaviour from Rose, saying he stares at their breasts, parades in ‘holey’ boxer shorts and stays longer in the changing room than he needs to.
Karen Danson, a childhood abuse survivor, whose story is at the heart of the case, has said that Rose asked her three times if she was getting changed yet.
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.”
In Rose’s evidence, he has also committed to pursuing an internal complaint against nurses, ‘once their claims are out of the way’.
Cross examination
When cross-examined by the nurses’ barrister, Niazi Fetto KC, Henderson said nobody from the Trust’s management ever spoke to him about which changing room he should be using. Henderson denied being informed about the details of concerns formally raised by 26 female nurses about his presence in the female changing room until reading about that in the media.
Henderson denied the allegations, made by multiple nurses, of exhibitionist behaviour in the female changing room, staring at female colleagues while they were changing, or walking around the changing room in his underwear.
The hearing will continue tomorrow in Newcastle.
