The NHS’s persecution of Sandie Peggie
A nurse who asserted her right to a single-sex space was treated with contempt by her trans-activist managers.
Sandie Peggie, the nurse who took on NHS Fife, has reason to celebrate. An employment tribunal has criticised managers at the hospital where she worked for the terrible way in which they treated her. Her ordeal began when she complained about being made to share a changing room and undress in front of a male, transgender-identifying colleague. The tribunal’s judgement, published this week, found that Peggie had been harassed by NHS Fife and that her complaint should have been handled differently.
Sadly, no amount of champagne can make up for what Peggie has been put through by NHS Fife. And advocates for women’s sex-based rights need to be clear-headed about the limitations of this week’s judgement. The truth is, Peggie’s victory in her employment tribunal is partial and narrow. In fact, without a successful appeal, the judgement may end up further undermining women’s right to single-sex provision.
It is shocking that Peggie, who has worked as a nurse in Scotland for 30 years, ever found herself embroiled in legal proceedings. She should never have been expected to undress, after a long shift and having experienced a heavy period, in front of Beth Upton, a male doctor who identifies as a woman. It is appalling that, having complained to managers about this lack of privacy and affront to her dignity, it was not Upton who was disciplined, but Peggie. She was branded a bigot, accused of gross misconduct and suspended from her job.
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