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Scotsman
39 minutes ago
- Health
- Scotsman
Nurse Sandie Peggie names 13 colleagues she says agreed with her in trans changing room dispute
Nurse tells tribunal told NHS Fife workplace was 'very toxic' and admits using racial slurs Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sandie Peggie has named 13 colleagues who she alleged disagreed with a decision by NHS Fife to allow a transgender doctor to share a women's changing room. Ms Peggie also told an employment tribunal her workplace was 'very toxic'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The nurse was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with trans medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023. Nurse Sandie Peggie | The Scotsman 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. On Tuesday, Ms Peggie was recalled to be questioned about evidence from other witnesses, and she said it made her 'very sad' to name colleagues who had allegedly shared her concerns about single-sex changing rooms. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Peggie said: 'I didn't want anybody else to be put in the same predicament.' During re-examination by her barrister Naomi Cunningham, Ms Peggie named a total of 13 NHS Fife workers including receptionists and a consultant – some of whom she had named previously. She also branded her workplace 'very toxic', the tribunal heard. She admitted she had used racial slurs but said she was 'brought up like that', and said it was not a 'politically correct way'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She claimed it did not cause offence within the community where she lived, including neighbours from Chinese and Pakistani backgrounds. Ms Peggie said the reaction from colleagues when she had been suspended was 'one of shock, they couldn't believe what had happened to me', and she alleged Dr Upton had complained in a previous placement 'because of an elderly patient in their 90s who had called him 'son'', the tribunal heard. She said when she asked for a photograph of Dr Upton using the phrase 'that weirdo', it was a picture from a night out 'where he looked like a man in a dress'. Ms Peggie defended her own comments on topics such as flooding in Pakistan, and a comment about putting bacon through the letterbox of a mosque, as 'dark humour'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She was questioned by Jane Russell KC, representing Dr Upton and NHS Fife, on comments provided by two witnesses as well as comments from a Benidorm group chat of colleagues who went on holiday together. The nurse said: 'It was never my intention to offend people outside my group of what I thought was very close friends.' Ms Peggie said she did not make a comment about putting bacon through the letterbox of a mosque, and attributed it to a paramedic, however she said: 'I wouldn't offend any Muslim people by speaking like that in front of them, it's a comment that's been made to one person only or between us.' She said she had 'a fear of it being built' because she was 'frightened of Shariah law', and had an objection to 'illegal immigrants', the tribunal heard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was put to her that two witnesses who attended her birthday lunch recalled her using 'derogatory' terminology to talk about Dr Upton. Ms Peggie said: 'The only thing I was discussing at the lunch was how I felt on the changing room, and that was what I was asking people.' The lawyer said a colleague withdrew from the Benidorm group chat, saying Ms Peggie was 'relentless in her nastiness', and that Dr Upton 'does not deserve the hate campaign that is obviously being waged not only by Sandie but other staff as well', the tribunal heard. Nurse Sandie Peggie and Dr Beth Upton | PA Ms Russell said: 'You were waging a hate campaign against Dr Upton, weren't you?' Ms Peggie said: 'No.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Asked if she believed trans people were 'pretending' to access single-sex spaces, Ms Peggie said: 'I don't have any bad feelings about trans people, I just don't believe they should be in the women's changing room. 'I still believe a trans woman is a man and shouldn't be in the female changing room.' The KC was admonished when she asked who was paying for Ms Peggie's legal representation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Another message was put to Ms Peggie, where she said 'those policies are a… minefield, been looking at menstrual privacy stuff as well', the tribunal heard. Ms Russell said: 'Was this detail about the menstrual flood a cover to disguise the fact that the only reason you went to the changing room was to confront Dr Upton?' Ms Peggie said: 'No.' Earlier on Tuesday, a consultant told the tribunal Dr Upton is "chromosomally male". Emergency department consultant Dr Maggie Currer was cross-examined by Ms Peggie's lawyer, Naomi Cunningham. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The consultant said she did not advise staff that Dr Upton would be allowed to use female changing facilities as she "did not think it was reasonable to violate someone's confidentiality". The consultant disagreed this made it harder for staff to object. She rejected a suggestion that terminology such as the word "bigot" was used in the department regarding attitudes towards gender. Dr Currer also said it was an "error" that she wrote in an email to colleagues that Ms Peggie had been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council on January 5 2023, and added: "I was aware she hadn't been so that is indeed an error." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She added: "In hindsight I could have checked with medical staff whether or not they were going to be comfortable with Dr Upton using the female changing rooms. "No concerns were raised with me at the time; there are other spaces which people can use to change. "I'm still not sure that advertising Dr Upton's trans status would have been the right thing to do."
BBC News
an hour ago
- Health
- BBC News
Nurse denies 'vindictive campaign' against trans doctor
A nurse has denied waging a "vindictive campaign" against a trans doctor, a tribunal has Peggie said comments regarding Dr Beth Upton - including asking for pictures of "the weirdo" on a night out - were made as dark nurse was suspended by NHS Fife in January 2024 following a row with Dr Upton about the doctor being allowed in a women's changing room at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. Ms Peggie was giving evidence for the second time at the tribunal, which she brought against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010. Ms Peggie told the tribunal she harboured no bad feelings towards trans people in general, but did not believe "men should be in women's changing areas". She admitted some remarks made about Dr Upton in a WhatsApp chat were derogatory and demeaning, but added they were only made between a small group of friends. When asked if she been taking part in a "vindictive campaign" or a "hate campaign" against the doctor, Ms Peggie said this was not true. The nurse, who worked for 30 years with NHS Fife, also said a number of racist jokes in a WhatsApp chat regarding flooding in Pakistan that killed nearly 2,000 people in 2022 was humour, intended to try and shock asked about requesting a picture of Dr Upton from a friend, where she used the term "weirdo", Ms Peggie said there had been chat throughout the department about "how weird" Dr Upton said the doctor had looked like "a man in a dress" on a work night out and that she "used weirdo as it was the word that was circulating at the time" in the department. However, she later said she did not regularly use weirdo as a description, but would use the word strange instead. Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal The nurse said more than a dozen people working for NHS Fife were in agreement with her regarding Dr Upton being allowed into women's changing rooms, more than she had initially named when giving evidence in February. She said she had not mentioned these members of staff - who included a consultant and receptionists - due to the "very toxic" situation within NHS said: "Since this happened, and the way I was treated, I didn't want anyone else to be put in the same predicament." Dr Upton and NHS Fife's lawyer, Jane Russell KC, quizzed Ms Peggie about a text message in January 2024 where she said "the only way I can get round this is to say we're not aware of protocols" and mentioned that "trans have all the rights".Ms Peggie denied this was in regards to creating an argument against Dr Upton following the suspension being was also asked about looking up policies related to menstrual health in the workplace, having previously told the tribunal she had a "menstrual flood" that forced her to go to the changing rooms during her work shift on Christmas Eve Russell asked if this was an excuse to disguise a deliberate attempt to encounter Dr Upton, which Ms Peggie denied. The tribunal also heard there had been discussion in Ms Peggie's workplace chat with colleagues about Dr Upton "causing problems" in the past regarding pronouns at previous person in the chat was alleged to have claimed colleagues were "walking on eggshells" when working alongside Dr Upton. Ms Peggie was also asked about racial comments and jokes made in the past, which had been heavily discussed during the previous day's denied making a remark about wanting to post bacon through the letterbox of a nearby mosque, attributing the comment to a colleagues who gave evidence on Monday said that Ms Peggie made the remark during a lunch with Ms Peggie admitted she had a fear of the mosque being built in Kirkcaldy, due to her having concerns about Sharia Law being introduced in the said did not dislike all Muslims, and that her beliefs did not mean she would ever treat patients differently. She added that she had taken jokes about floods in Pakistan from a Facebook page and while they were "distasteful", it was to "sent in dark humour" to nurse said she had used derogatory terms to describe people from Pakistan and China because these were common terms when she was growing said people of those ethnicities that she knew were not offended when the terms had been used. Ms Peggie was greeted on arrival at the tribunal by Joanna Cherry, the former SNP MP for Edinburgh South West. The tribunal has finished witness evidence and will next consider written submissions on Wednesday, with oral submissions to be heard at the start of September.
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Sandie Peggie tribunal hears racist jokes were dark humour
She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying, harassment and patient safety concerns. Ms Peggie was recalled as a witness by her legal team following an explosive evidence session on Monday, which heard the nurse was accused of racism and homophobic by colleagues and former friends. In evidence, Ms Peggie told the tribunal jokes she shared about the 2022 floods in Pakistan, which killed 1,739 people, were sent in "dark humour" and were intended to shock the small group of friends in a Benidorm group chat. The tribunal heard she shared 10 jokes relating to the flooding disaster, including describing the aftermath as looking like a "giant bowl of coco pops". Another joke shared said there was "too many P***'s" in Britain" and said they could be returned to Pakistan. Ms Peggie admitted these jokes were "offensive". But she also said there was "too much illegal immigration". Read more: The nurse also said she could not remember saying she wanted to throw a packet of bacon at a mosque being built in Kirkcaldy but said that it would have been said it "dark humour" if she did. She said: "I wouldn't offend any Muslim people by speaking like that in front of them." Defending the messages joking about Pakistan, Ms Peggie said: "Looking at them, they're distasteful. "At the time they were sent in dark humour, expecting a shocked reaction from the girls." Ms Peggie also told the tribunal she used the racial slur 'P***' regularly when growing up and said the community in her neighbour were "quite happy" with this at the time. Asked by NHS Fife's lawyer Jane Russell KC whether she did not like the Kirkcaldy mosque, Ms Peggie said: "I can't say I didn't like it, but I had a fear of it being built." The lawyer asked whether this was because Ms Peggie had a "fear of Muslims" and is "frightened" of Sharia law. Ms Peggie agreed. She told the tribunal she had used the "Ch***" slur, but said she did not use it to describe restaurants in her neighbourhood. She said she has "never heard my Chinese neighbours complain" about the term. Discussing the Dr Upton's use of the female changing room, Ms Peggie said she did not recall describing the medic as a "weirdo". Ms Peggie said: "I think he looks strange because he is obviously a man who wants to wear women's clothing." The nurse also rejected evidence from her former friends that she was "homophobic" and "devastated" when her daughter came out as gay. Read more: Ms Peggie said she was "originally upset" but only because she feared her daughter would be "ridiculed" by people. The nurse then told the tribunal: "I don't have any bad feelings towards trans people, I just don't believe they should be in the women's changing room." Earlier, the tribunal heard from consultant Dr Maggie Currer, who told the tribunal Dr Upton was "chromosomally male". However, Dr Currer said she did not think it would be appropriate to inform female medical staff of Dr Upton's trans status to check if they were comfortable. She told the tribunal in "hindsight" that she "could have". Ms Peggie's lawyer Naomi Cunningham put it to Dr Currer that "Dr Upton is quite simply biologically male". Dr Currer said: 'She's chromosomally male, as far as I'm aware. 'Although I've not examined Dr Upton she's also in terms of genitalia male, but I have not examined her.' The evidence in the employment tribunal came to an end, with a third witness - Emma Moore, an administrator at Sex Matters, also giving evidence. She told the tribunal that she had received an anonymous call from a worker at NHS Fife at the weekend, with the employee telling the organisation that people were "frightened" to talk about the case at work. In cross examination, Ms Russell KC said Ms Moore's evidence amounted to "no more than you recounting what someone else told you". Employment Judge Sandy Kemp concluded the tribunal, stating that supplementary statements can be submitted up to August 25, while a date for oral statements from Ms Russell and Ms Cunningham was set for September 1 and 2.
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Telling staff doctor was trans ‘would violate confidentiality'
An NHS consultant did not tell staff a transgender doctor would be allowed to use a female changing room because it would violate 'confidentiality', a tribunal has heard. Sandie Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023. The nurse was placed on special leave after Dr Upton, a biological male who identifies as a woman, 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. At an employment tribunal in Dundee on Tuesday, emergency department consultant Dr Maggie Currer was cross-examined by Ms Peggie's lawyer, Naomi Cunningham. The consultant admitted that she did not advise staff that Dr Upton would be allowed to use female changing facilities as she 'did not think it was reasonable to violate someone's confidentiality'. The consultant insisted this did not make it harder for staff to object about the medic's presence in the rooms. She said: 'In hindsight I could have checked with medical staff whether or not they were going to be comfortable with Dr Upton using the female changing rooms. 'No concerns were raised with me at the time; there are other spaces which people can use to change. 'I'm still not sure that advertising Dr Upton's trans status would have been the right thing to do.' Ms Cunningham said: 'Someone had to be the first to object, this was an environment where senior staff were insisting that trans women were women and only a bigot would deny that. Objecting is going to take real courage isn't it?' Dr Currer disputed that such terminology – 'only a bigot would deny that' – was used. Ms Cunningham put it to her that 'Dr Upton is quite simply biologically male'. Dr Currer said: 'She's chromosomally male, as far as I'm aware. 'Although I've not examined Dr Upton, she's also, in terms of genitalia, male, but I have not examined her.' Elsewhere during her cross-examination, Dr Currer admitted she had made an 'error' in writing an email to colleagues to tell that Ms Peggie had been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council on January 5, 2023. She accepted that doing so was 'likely' to damage someone's reputation 'in the eyes of their colleagues'.
Powys County Times
5 hours ago
- Health
- Powys County Times
Transgender doctor is ‘chromosomally male', consultant tells tribunal
A consultant has told a tribunal that a transgender doctor involved in a dispute with a nurse over single-sex spaces is 'chromosomally male'. Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with trans medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, 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. At an employment tribunal in Dundee on Tuesday, emergency department consultant Dr Maggie Currer was cross-examined by Ms Peggie's lawyer, Naomi Cunningham. The consultant said she did not advise staff that Dr Upton would be allowed to use female changing facilities as she 'did not think it was reasonable to violate someone's confidentiality'. The consultant disagreed this made it harder for staff to object. She rejected a suggestion that terminology such as the word 'bigot' was used in the department regarding attitudes towards gender. Dr Currer also said it was an 'error' that she wrote in an email to colleagues that Ms Peggie had been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council on January 5 2023, and added: 'I was aware she hadn't been so that is indeed an error.' She added: 'In hindsight I could have checked with medical staff whether or not they were going to be comfortable with Dr Upton using the female changing rooms. 'No concerns were raised with me at the time; there are other spaces which people can use to change. 'I'm still not sure that advertising Dr Upton's trans status would have been the right thing to do.' Ms Cunningham said: 'Someone had to be the first to object, this was an environment where senior staff were insisting that trans women were women and only a bigot would deny that. Objecting is going to take real courage isn't it?' Dr Currer said: 'I don't think that terminology was ever used – that only a bigot would deny that.' Ms Cunningham put it to her that 'Dr Upton is quite simply biologically male'. Dr Currer said: 'She's chromosomally male, as far as I'm aware. 'Although I've not examined Dr Upton she's also in terms of genitalia male, but I have not examined her.'
