
Consultant believed dispute over female changing rooms ‘was hate incident'
Sandie Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital, Kircaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023.
She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment and cited concerns about 'patient care'.
Ms Peggie has lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment; harassment related to a protected belief; indirect discrimination; and victimisation.
The tribunal resumed in Dundee on July 16 after an initial set of hearings in February.
On Tuesday, Dr Kate Searle, a consultant in emergency medicine, said that Dr Upton was 'very open' about their trans status during a job interview, and had been out for around a year in August 2023, the tribunal heard.
Dr Searle said that she had known Ms Peggie during her 11-year career at NHS Fife but was unaware of her gender critical views, and had asked Dr Upton 'if she was happy using female changing rooms' in August 2023 during an induction and 'didn't make any other suggestions'.
She said she emailed equality lead Isla Bumba on December 8 2023 to ask if NHS Fife had a transgender policy but was told it did not.
Dr Searle said: 'I asked her if she was happy using female changing rooms, she said yes, I had nothing else to add.'
She said she emailed Ms Bumba as 'we've got our first transgender doctor working, there's very little information available', hoping there would be an NHS Fife policy on 'supporting transgender staff in their workplace', the tribunal heard.
On her return to work after Christmas, on December 29 2023, Dr Searle read an email from Dr Elspeth Pitt regarding an 'upsetting interaction with another member of staff' and an email from Dr Upton from Christmas Day, alleging Ms Peggie had told her 'she can't be in the female changing room, it's wrong and lots of others feel this way' and 'she continued to tell me she is intimidated, she told me women have a right to feel safe', and made a comment about 'prisons', the tribunal heard.
Dr Searle said: 'To me that was likening the situation to the Isla Bryson case that was very well publicised. Isla Bryson was a convicted rapist who was housed temporally in a female prison.'
She said she was 'very concerned' and 'knew there wasn't an NHS Fife policy', adding that 'according to the hate incident policy it is verbal harassment', the tribunal heard.
She said she had a meeting with Dr Upton at 5pm who was 'shaken and distressed', and they completed a Datix internal report together.
Dr Searle said: 'We looked at NHS Fife's hate incident policy and recognised this required a Datix to be completed, so we completed that together, we discussed reporting the incident to the police as that's again what is recommended in NHS Fife policy.
'Beth said she would think about it, we looked at her shift patterns to see when she was next due to be in and if she felt safe to do that.'
She added that Dr Upton 'mentioned two other incidents she had had with Sandie where she had felt the interaction was affected by Ms Peggie's feelings towards her as a transgender woman', and alleged that in one incident in a resuscitation unit 'Ms Peggie was doing nursing obs (observations) on a patient; when Beth walked in Ms Peggie left. Beth said 'do you want me to finish doing obs?', Ms Peggie said 'you can finish doing them yourself', and left the room', the tribunal heard.
She alleged that another incident involved a patient in a suspected mental health crisis leaving, and said that when Dr Upton went to look for Ms Peggie, the nurse 'would only speak to her through another member of nursing staff', the tribunal heard.
Dr Searle said: 'That would make me somewhat concerned for patient safety; in our team we need to communicate very well between ourselves to ensure patient safety.'
She said she had spoken to the healthcare worker, and added: 'I asked if she recalled the situation and she was concerned about getting involved in any discussions about the incident because she said 'I am mixed race and I am worried about getting involved in this for my own safety'.'
Counsel for both respondents, Jane Russell KC, said: 'What do you think she meant?'
Dr Searle said: 'This legal case where there is a lot of press attention and any staff being involved in the case have felt under scrutiny and concerned that their views will be widely publicised when they wouldn't otherwise.'
She said she completed the Datix as 'NHS staff must record all hate incidents' and added: 'We talked about reporting to the police, that's mentioned for hate incidents.'
The tribunal continues.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
10,000 steps myth - should you be a stickler for recommended daily doses?
It felt like there was a collective sigh of relief when a study, published this week, suggested 10,000 steps a day isn't the health utopia we had all been led to news that we only had to reach 7,000 steps was enough to quite literally stop us in our fervent step-counting what about some of the other health targets that many of us swear by? Can we fall short of the mark but still live long, healthy and happy lives?We've taken a handful of commonly cited healthy lifestyle benchmarks, examined them with various experts to get an idea of why they exist, explored the health claims, and, most importantly asked if there is any wriggle sleep so important that we have to spend so much of our lives doing it? How much exercise is enough? What about drinking water? How much do we really need?Disclosure - the below is not medical advice, it's more of an inspection of many of the health ideals we have on our radar. Water (6-8 glasses a day) According to the NHS, the average grown-up should be drinking between six and eight glasses (1.5-2 litres) of water a day. However, maybe we don't need to cart our fancy flagons around with us as much as we thought. Prof Neil Turner, kidney specialist at the University of Edinburgh, says as humans we existed for thousands of years without knowing what a pint or a litre was."I mean, mice don't need flashing water bottles telling them how much to drink - why do we?" he says."Our bodies are set up to do things just right - we eat when we are hungry, we breathe when we need to breathe, and we drink when we are thirsty." it really that simple? According to Prof Turner, who has seen a lot of kidneys in his time, that rule applies to the vast majority of us. Those with specific conditions, like a kidney disorder, may have to drink says if our urine is dark, in the general healthy population, we shouldn't panic that we haven't drank enough - that is the kidney doing its job. It is reserving water in our body, he explains, and our body should tell us that we feel thirsty and then we will get a Linia Patel, a performance nutritionist, disagrees. We might drink different amounts, she says, due to factors like our size, how warm we are, whether we've been drinking alcohol, but she feels having a target of 1.5 to 2 litres is a good thing - especially for women."I would definitely say from a women's health point of view, where I work, what I see is a lot of the symptoms [associated] with being dehydrated. It might be fatigue, constipation, brain fog, feeling hungry [or] cravings."She says that if the problem is related to hydration then it's "an easy one to get right, if you're consistent with it". Sleep (7-9 hours a night) Moving on to sleep - the NHS recommends seven to nine hours a night for the average adult, and there's not much wriggle room to be had there. Prof Ama Johal, a specialist in sleep disorders, says sleep is vital; without it we are beginning to shave years off our lives."The evidence is there, there are huge bodies of research which show that the health benefits are multiple."A good night's sleep - that's at least seven hours of quality sleep - reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes, depression and finally, it lowers mortality rates."He points to a study which used 10,000 British civil servants - those that slept for fewer than five hours a night had an increased risk of early could we shave an hour off the minimum recommended - and settle for six hours a night?"No," Prof Johal says. "As soon as we lower the limit then there's a risk people will think it's ok to sleep for less time."Cat napping?"Unfortunately not," he says, "Our bodies have very different reactions to naps through the day, and eventually if we tried to make up the hours we were missing overnight by sleeping through the day, we would struggle to fall asleep at night."But all is not lost, nappers among us - there are studies that suggest a short snooze in the day can keep the brain youthful, and even compensate for poor or broken sleep the night Johal suggests that for those who struggle to get the recommended amount, try to target a few nights of good sleep a week, and just being "more aware that sleep is so important". Emily and Lucy are two avid walkers from Manchester. But alongside their love of walking, the two women share a less healthy trait: they struggle to nod off because of their they say the target of seven hours sleep a night is something they "are working towards". Exercise (150 mins a week) Emily and Lucy are, however, "definitely nailing it" when it comes to exercise. Through their group, Soft Girls who Hike, they have found a love of walking which has not only improved their mental health, they say, but connected them with many other don't try to meet all the healthy benchmarks on their radar, they explain, because "life just gets in the way". But they are doing 7,000 steps a day and taking long, low impact walks at the Chief Medical Officer recommends doing 150 minutes of exercise a week and two strength training sessions. Is that achievable for most?Dr Sinead Roberts, a sports nutritionist who trains elite athletes, is pragmatic in her approach. While moderate strength training and physical activity is vital for maintaining muscle mass, she says, as well as resistance to injuries and supporting our immune systems, you have to adapt the recommendations to fit with your life."Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise people," she says. "This phrase really does apply here."I have friends who do nothing - and that really does show, I say, 'You're walking like an 80-year-old!'"But if you are doing one strength session a week and some moderate exercise then that is definitely a good thing, just try and do more if you can."She uses an analogy of a highway - the more things we can do to stay healthy the wider the road, which, in turn means we can go off course sometimes without careering up a grassy verge."All those benchmarks are interlinked - you can't just do one healthy thing and ignore the rest. Equally you don't need to put so much pressure on yourself to achieve them all."This attitude chimes with Emily and Lucy, who say they happily "chip away" at some of the health benchmarks."For example, we might do five minutes of meditation [which is] better than nothing, but we wouldn't stress about not hitting the recommended goal." Mindfulness (10 mins a day) Through its Every Mind Matters campaign, the NHS recommends 10 minutes of mindfulness a day. Basically, instead of pondering the future or thinking about the past, you pay attention to the moment, noticing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves, letting our thoughts pass by without studies suggest activities like mindfulness can have a positive effect and also help change the structure of the Natasha Tiwari, founder of The Veda Group, says 10 minutes is a good start to "give the mind time to settle, and the brain enough time to truly benefit" from the process of many of us lead busy lives, and to carve out 10 minutes in the day can be a luxury. In some respects, could having these targets make life more stressful?Ms Tiwari disagrees - it's less about the time spent and more about the awareness of mindfulness and bringing it to our everyday lives."Even brief pauses," she explains, "can still have a positive impact". Most experts I've spoken to agree that while benchmarks are useful, and simplicity is key, it's better not to fixate on a number. Rather, find a way to incorporate a healthy outlook to diet, exercise and mental health into everyday sitting for some time writing this, I am going to sign off - there is another health benchmark I've just come across: limiting sitting down to less than eight hours a day. So, I had better get moving.


Times
15 minutes ago
- Times
Trans doctor altered notes after changing room row, tribunal told
A transgender doctor edited notes on a phone to add patient safety concerns about a nurse hours after she challenged the doctor's right to use female changing rooms, a tribunal has been told. A landmark employment tribunal had previously been told that Beth Upton kept contemporaneous notes of interactions with Sandie Peggie, including claims that she had put patient safety at risk by failing to communicate with her senior colleague. Peggie is suing the health board for discrimination and harassment due to having to share a single-sex changing room with Upton, who was born male but now identifies as a woman. Peggie was suspended from work for several months after she confronted the doctor in women's changing rooms in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, on Christmas Eve, 2023.

South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
NHS Wales Gluten-Free Card Scheme: Who is eligible?
The card is intended to give individuals with conditions such as coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis more freedom in selecting gluten-free products from supermarkets and online instead of relying only on a prescription. This initiative, known as the National Gluten-Free Subsidy Card Scheme, is the first of its kind in the UK and offers an alternative way for patients to access essential dietary products. Cabinet secretary for health and social care, Jeremy Miles, said: "For people living with coeliac disease, following a strict gluten-free diet is not a lifestyle choice but a medical necessity. "We want to de-medicalise the supply of gluten-free foods in Wales, giving people more freedom to access the food they want to eat, more conveniently, to help them to manage their condition." The card will also help reduce the workload on GPs and pharmacies, ensuring efficient use of NHS resources. Eligible individuals will be given the choice between a traditional prescription or the new card, based on their needs. The scheme has been tested across Hywel Dda University Health Board, with numerous success stories. Cherylee Barker, part of the pilot scheme, has been using the card for six years. She said: "I was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2007 and quickly realised that maintaining a gluten-free diet would be costly, with limited shopping options and hit-and-miss food choices. "I jumped at the chance to join the pilot. I could try new products without feeling financially stretched and take back control of my diet." Dietician Alison Jones, who led the successful pilot, said: "From its use within Hywel Dda, we know that the card provides more choice, flexibility and variety." The contactless card, which functions like a pre-paid Mastercard, will be topped up every three months.