JK Rowling slams ‘hapless' NHS bosses who suspended nurse for complaining about trans doc using female changing rooms
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AUTHOR JK Rowling has slammed "hapless" NHS bosses for suspending a nurse who challenged a trans doctor in the female changing rooms.
Sandie Peggie was suspended after she objected to sharing a changing room with Dr Beth Upton - a biological male - at the NHS Fife hospital where they both worked in Scotland.
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JK Rowling has slammed NHS bosses for their 'hapless and unprofessional' behaviour
Credit: twitter/jkrowling
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Sandie was suspended from work in January 2024
Credit: Iain Masterton
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Dr Upton - a biological male - made an allegation of bullying and harassment
Credit: Alamy
Sandie was suspended from work at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January last year after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment.
But she was cleared of allegations of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering the doctor in an internal disciplinary hearing.
The Harry Potter writer, 59, also took aim at former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, suggesting the "unprofessional" behaviour of NHS Fife was a direct result of her legacy.
Writing on social media, Rowling fumed: "This is Nicola Sturgeon's legacy.
"... a government that publicly backs the hapless, unprofessional, ideologically captured health board that's persecuting a nurse for asserting her legal right to a single-sex changing room."
Ms Peggie's solicitor Margaret Gribbon said that the nurse - who has worked at the health board for 30 years - was "relieved and delighted" after being cleared of the allegations.
In a statement, Ms Gribbon said: "On Tuesday 14 July, the evening before the resuming of her tribunal, Sandie Peggie received confirmation from Fife Health Board that following a disciplinary hearing, none of the gross misconduct allegations against her were upheld.
"This follows a disciplinary hearing on 25 June, which considered four gross misconduct allegations: two relating to patient care failures, one of 'misgendering' Dr Upton, and one relating to her encounter with Dr Upton in the workplace female-only changing room on Christmas Eve 2023.
"Sandie is relieved and delighted that this 18-month-long internal process has concluded and cleared her of all allegations."
It comes as an employment tribunal brought by Ms Peggie against the health board is set to resume this week.
JK Rowling has been a prominent women's rights campaigner and has often been vocal on what she calls "sex-based rights" for several years.
The writer praised BBC newsreader Martine Croxall last month after she refused to say "pregnant people" on air.
Gender row nurse cleared of gross misconduct
She joked she had a "new favourite BBC presenter" after Martine overruled her autocue which referred to "pregnant people" being at risk during the recent hot weather.
Rowling has come under fire for comments made in the past towards trans people.
In 2020, the esteemed author slammed the growing trend of replacing "biological sex" with "gender identity".
Her stance, that declared "sex is real", led to death threats, but also moulded her into a figurehead for the "gender-critical" movement.
Activists accused her of transphobia in 2020 when replying to an article with the headline: "Opinion: Creating a more equal post Covid-19 world for people who menstruate."
She tweeted: "'People who menstruate'. I'm sure there used to be a word for those people.
"Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
Her remarks led to criticism from Potter actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, who ignored the fact her books had made them famous to launch a string of attacks.
It was Rowling's beloved group For Women Scotland which also launched a long-running legal battle with the Scottish government over how a "woman" was defined in Scottish law.
The Scottish government had argued people with gender recognition certificates (GRCs) should be protected from sex-based discrimination, meaning a transwoman would be considered a woman.
However, campaign group For Women Scotland claimed this only applied to people born as a female.
In April, the Supreme Court's landmark judgement ruled that it was unanimously determined "sex is binary" and that female-only spaces must be protected on the basis of biology.
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