Latest news with #tribunal
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Trans tribunal nurse accused of wanting to "post bacon" to mosque
The nurse at the centre of a tribunal involving a transgender doctor allegedly told colleagues she wanted to post bacon through the letterbox of a local Peggie made the comment at a work lunch with colleagues, along with other remarks insulting transgender people, according to testimony from Fiona Wishart, another nurse with NHS Fife. According to another colleague Ms Peggie shared racist jokes in a WhatsApp chat regarding the flooding that killed thousands in Pakistan in 2022. Ms Peggie is to return on Tuesday to give additional evidence in the tribunal, at the request of her legal team. The nurse was suspended by NHS Fife in January 2024 following a row with Dr Beth Upton regarding the doctor being allowed in a women's changing has since lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act Wishart, who has worked for NHS Fife for 41 years, told the tribunal Ms Peggie's comment regarding a mosque in Kirkcaldy was made on 4 September 2023. She said Ms Peggie said "she had a good mind to post bacon through their letterbox" and that the comment stood out in her mind because it was Peggie's lawyer Naomi Cunningham suggested the comment had been made several years previously by a male paramedic, and Ms Wishart was choosing to falsely attribute it to Ms denied this, and said it was definitely the nurse who made the said other comments regarding Dr Upton were made at the lunch, but could not recall the details of what words were other colleagues had told her Ms Peggie had referred to Dr Upton as "weirdo", "freak" and "it". Later testimony by nurse Lindsey Nicoll said Ms Peggie had used those terms in conversation and in a WhatsApp chat for a group of nurses who sometimes holidayed to messages from the chat, Dr Upton's looks were mocked and was referred to as having a "pathetic voice" by Ms Peggie in the Nicoll said she believed the comments were "disrespectful" and made her feel added her main concern was with how Ms Peggie expressed her Cunningham suggested it was "not wholly unfair" to call Dr Upton a "weirdo", and that if any man walked into the women's changing rooms they would "be considered a voyeur" and therefore it would be reasonable to suggest they were what the lawyer called a creep or a weirdo. This was in reference to an incident where Ms Peggie had messaged a colleague's husband by accident and asked for a picture of "the weirdo", thinking she was messaging a different colleague. The husband then replied with a picture of his wife in a fancy dress costume, an incident that annoyed her and led to the wife complaining about Ms Peggie to Ms Nicoll. Pakistan flooding The tribunal also heard Ms Peggie posted racist jokes in the chat referencing flooding in Pakistan. Among the comments were "what goes around comes around – Pakistan has been flooding Britain for years" and crude jokes about Asian Cunningham asked why Ms Nicoll had not criticised her at the time. She replied that she wished she had remonstrated with lawyer asked if Ms Nicoll's actions in speaking to the tribunal were due to her "having it in" for Ms Peggie, referencing a text message from Ms Nicoll saying she hoped Ms Peggie would be struck off. She denied this claim, and said she was giving testimony so people could "understand Sandie's character" and that there was no place for "bigotry in nursing."Ms Wishart had also alleged Ms Peggie made racial remarks, particularly regarding immigrants.A previous session of the tribunal had seen texts sent by Ms Peggie where she complained that "everyone stands up for the minority", referencing Dr Upton. Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal Other chat messages involved discussing Imane Khelif, who won women's welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics last year amid a row over gender Nicoll also said Ms Peggie spoke to her after a family member came out as said: "She was devastated about a family member being gay and asked me 'how I coped with two family members being gay'.Ms Nicoll said the use of coping suggested Ms Peggie was upset about her family member being Cunningham suggested being upset was a "reasonable" reaction to the news as various reasons could cause it, such as fear of relatives suffering homophobia. Extra witnesses Earlier the tribunal panel agreed for further witnesses to appear on Tuesday, with a timescale described as "extremely tight".Ms Peggie's legal team said gender critical group Sex Matters were contacted at the weekend by a witness who shared the nurse's objections over sharing a changing room with Dr Upton and "found the courage to come forward".A representative of Sex Matters has now been called to discuss this evidence. The team had also been contacted by another potential Cunningham said that the way Ms Peggie had been treated by NHS Fife had "frightened off" other potential witnesses who shared her views, and that the nurse "has been the only one to find the courage to speak up" until judge Sandy Kemp said the Tuesday schedule - which will also feature cross-examination of Dr Maggie Currer, a consultant in emergency medicine – was the only way to ensure all evidence was heard without extending the tribunal any further.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Sandie Peggie ‘wanted to post bacon through mosque letterbox', tribunal told
SANDIE Peggie allegedly told colleagues that she 'wanted to post bacon through the letterbox of a mosque', a tribunal has heard. The nurse was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender 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'. Peggie then 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. READ MORE: On Monday, emergency nurse practitioner Fiona Wishart, who has worked for NHS Fife for 41 years, told the tribunal she heard Peggie making 'derogatory' remarks about Dr Upton at a lunch on September 4, 2023, and making 'offensive' comments about a mosque being built in the town. Wishart said: 'I was at a lunch with fellow colleagues. Sandie had made remarks about Beth at the lunch, derogatory remarks.' She said she had forgotten details but was told the comments were 'weirdo', 'freak' and 'it', although she also said those terms were not used at the lunch, the tribunal heard. Wishart added: 'I've heard her make derogatory remarks regarding people of other ethnic origins and people of other sexual orientations … referring to people as 'immigrants who need to go back to their own country', and 'come over here to steal our jobs'. 'These are opinions that don't align with mine.' Wishart said that at the same lunch, Peggie had commented on a new mosque being built in Fife, and 'made reference to the fact she had a good mind to post bacon through their letterbox', the tribunal heard. Wishart added: 'I specifically remember it because I found it offensive.' Counsel for both respondents, Jane Russell KC, said: 'When she said that, how did others respond?' Wishart said: 'I can't remember, but she made derogatory remarks about Beth, and my colleague that was at the lunch, Lindsey Nicoll, responded, but I can't remember what she said.' Russell asked: 'Did it go beyond 'weirdo', 'freak', and 'it'?' The witness said: 'No, I don't think so.' On Monday, the tribunal also heard that Peggie's legal team were contacted at the weekend by a witness who shared her objections over sharing a changing room with Dr Upton and 'found the courage to come forward'. The team said it had also been contacted by another potential witness. Peggie's barrister, Naomi Cunningham, described the case as 'extraordinary', and 'the first case in which the practical working out of the implications of For Women Scotland judgment will have to be addressed in relation to single-sex spaces'. She said that the way Peggie had been treated by NHS Fife had 'frightened off' other potential witnesses who shared her views, and that the nurse 'has been the only one to find the courage to speak up' until a new witness came forward. The tribunal continues.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
IT expert says trans doctor's phone claims 'not possible'
Phone records in a tribunal involving a row between a nurse and a trans doctor were not examined in person or Donaldson, an information security manager for NHS Fife, instead joined a Teams call with Dr Beth Upton in May this year to assist in downloading notes from a mobile notes related to encounters the doctor had with Sandie Peggie, a nurse at the Victoria Hospital in Donaldson told the tribunal that "time was limited" but that it would have been "more beneficial" to have carried out the exercise in person. Ms Peggie and Dr Upton had a row on 24 December 2023 in the women's changing rooms, regarding whether the doctor should be allowed in there. The nurse was then suspended after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment and cited concerns about "patient care".Ms Peggie has since lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act tribunal previously heard Dr Upton had recorded details of alleged incidents involving Ms Peggie prior to Christmas Eve in written notes on a asked if the "most reliable" way to ensure the phone information was accurate would have been to carry out a forensic examination, Mr Donaldson also agreed that an in-person meeting would have been better than a Teams call. Mr Donaldson said he could not offer a technical explanation for why the notes, including one entitled Weird Incident, showed a creation date of October 2023 but listed an edited date of August witness told the tribunal "he didn't believe for a minute that [Dr Upton] was trying to lead us up to the garden path" with was later stated by Dr Upton's legal team that other notes on the phone unrelated to Ms Peggie - including a shopping list - had the same issue with dates. Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal Another IT expert told the tribunal it "just isn't possible" to edit a mobile phone note prior to the date it is consultant James Borwick said only a "catastrophic event" at Google would have resulted in the phone saying a note had been edited before being Borwick was hired by Ms Peggie's legal team to examine the phone records but denied he had been instructed to undermine Dr to explain screenshots highlighting the disparity between dates Mr Borwick said the "version history" of the phone notes appeared to have been added that he had attempted to recreate the same scenario with a phone and editing dates before creating them, but without told the panel "it's just not possible". The tribunal heard Dr Upton made additions to phone notes in the days after the Christmas Eve incident, including to a note from 18 December - the date Dr Upton has accused Ms Peggie of risking patient care with her stated "working nights, won't make eye contact, won't acknowledge my presence, haven't had direct conversation but can feel the dismissal/hostility" and was then added to in the early hours of 26 Russell KC, who represents NHS Fife and Dr Upton, suggested to Mr Borwick he had been instructed to produce evidence that Dr Upton was lying - a claim that prompted an immediate objection from Ms Peggie's legal Russell later questioned whether a comment in Mr Borwick's report saying Dr Upton was "silent on the matter" of phone notes was an "irresponsible accusation".He replied that, with hindsight, perhaps it Borwick said he had hoped to meet Dr Upton about the phone situation, but the meeting was cancelled by Ms Peggie's legal team. The tribunal will continue next week.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Manager denies health board sought to 'punish' trans row nurse
An NHS Fife manager who led an investigation into allegations against nurse Sandie Peggie has told a tribunal that nobody higher up in the organisation was telling her what to Glancy dismissed suggestions from Ms Peggie's lawyers that the health board had a "determination to punish" the nurse for an altercation with trans doctor Beth Upton in a hospital changing witness told the tribunal she had not shared details of the investigation with the health board's senior leadership said "nobody higher up was telling me what to do" and her decisions were based "on what I've found" in the investigation. Ms Peggie and Dr Upton had an encounter on Christmas Eve 2023 that led to the nurse being suspended from work after a row over whether the doctor should be in the women's changing rooms at the Victoria Hospital in Glancy became involved in the case in late February Glancy said a combination of diary commitments, sickness and annual leave meant she could not conduct interviews until late April and her final report into the matter was completed in December told NHS Fife and Dr Upton's lawyer Jane Russell she believed staff "shouldn't be confronting colleagues" and that if someone had an issue or a problem with a colleague they should speak to a line manager. The clinical nurse manager denied a suggestion from Ms Peggie's lawyer Naomi Cunningham she deliberately put off informing the nurse about further allegations against Cunningham suggested the delays were because NHS Fife was in "turmoil" about whether the additional claims - regarding whether Ms Peggie had previously refused to engage with the doctor about a patient - could be "pinned" on the Glancy said this was not true, as she had not shared any details of her findings with also rejected the suggestion she was "very anxious" about challenging Dr Upton regarding evidence in the Cunningham asked if Ms Glancy had looked into claims by Ms Peggie that the junior doctor was a "known troublemaker", to which she replied that she was looking into the Christmas Eve incident, not Dr Upton. Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal The lawyer queried whether the fact that Dr Kate Searle, Dr Upton's supervisor, had sent emails to other members of staff expressing support for the junior doctor had compromised Ms Glancy's Cunningham said Dr Searle - who gave evidence over two days earlier in the week - had been "vigorously briefing" against Ms Peggie with her actions. Ms Glancy replied that none of the people in the email chain were involved in her investigation and therefore it did not affect her findings. Dr Searle gave evidence during the internal investigation and also attended Dr Upton's session with Ms Glancy, which Ms Peggie's legal team said was bending the Glancy said it was allowed for people in a tribunal to have a colleague there for support, and "not unusual". No notes kept for second meeting Ms Cunningham suggested an email exchange between Dr Upton and Ms Glancy regarding the 18 December incident indicated "a clear steer" to the clinical nurse manager to not investigate it any lawyer said this was because it would be proven to be false and "should be career-ending for Dr Upton."Ms Glancy disagreed with this, saying she had continued to investigate the 18 December incident by speaking to a healthcare assistant on shift on that day. She later added she felt the healthcare worker's evidence - that Dr Upton and and Ms Peggie had a conversation but she could not recall details - did not contradict Dr Upton's prior claim that Ms Peggie had left without saying anything, as it was uncertain how much was said between them. Ms Glancy confirmed she had a second meeting with Dr Upton after their initial session during the investigation, where they discussed changes to the doctor's said these changes were mostly grammatical but admitted there were no notes kept of this Hamilton, an HR adviser with NHS Fife, later told the tribunal this was "not ideal" but that meetings did not need to always have notes taken. The respective legal teams also clashed over language used by Ms Cunningham, where she repeatedly referred to Dr Upton as male and said this was the "correct sex".Ms Russell said this was creating a hostile environment for the witness and confusing Ms Glancy into accidently misgendering the doctor - something Ms Cunningham denied. Ms Hamilton later said she agreed Ms Glancy's report had been made without interference from added Dr Searle giving both evidence and then supporting Dr Upton during the investigation was not ideal, but there was nothing in policy against it. The tribunal continues.
ABC News
24-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Demons to appeal Steven May's three-match AFL suspension
Melbourne will appeal the AFL tribunal's decision to suspend Steven May for three matches. The Demons will present their case to the AFL appeals board next week. "We felt we presented a really strong case, and Steven's sole intention was to win the ball, and we believe he provided a contest in a reasonable way given the circumstances," Demons general manager of football Alan Richardson said. "After reviewing the outcome and seeking further expert legal advice this morning, we have decided to appeal the tribunal's decision." May was suspended on Wednesday night for the controversial collision that concussed Francis Evans and left the Carlton forward with a broken nose and a chipped tooth. His case was sent directly to the tribunal, with the rough conduct charge graded as careless, severe impact and high contact. AFL tribunal counsel Andrew Woods pushed for a three-match ban to be imposed, declaring May should have slowed down or changed direction to either avoid or lessen the collision. It was a position with which the three-person tribunal ultimately agreed, delivering a guilty verdict after deliberating for more than 90 minutes. May had pleaded not guilty, with his lawyer Adrian Anderson arguing his client's actions were not unreasonable. The premiership defender clashed with Evans at speed while attacking a loose ball in the Blues' eight-point win at the MCG on Saturday night. Given the rolling ball popped up during its final bounce, Evans arrived a fraction of a second earlier than his opponent, with a charging May making contact after continuing his trajectory. May was also concussed in the same match, and he thanked the AFL tribunal for pushing the hearing out to Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday slot. During his evidence, he reiterated the fact he thought he would arrive at the bouncing ball first. "I definitely thought it was my ball given how the previous bounces reacted," May said. "Then it took an unusual bounce given the conditions. It actually bounced up and towards Evans, which I didn't anticipate." May's hands were still in front of him in a collect-the-ball type pose when his shoulder made contact with Evans's head. "I thought it was going to be in my hands. I just can't believe I didn't take possession," May said. "I thought I did everything right. I was shocked." In his findings, tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said the evidence from the biomechanics expert showed May had only 0.56 seconds from the ball's final bounce until the moment of the collision, and that he would have needed at least 0.2 to 0.25 seconds to react. "We find, however, that May could and should have reacted before the moment of the last bounce of the ball," Gleeson said. "Even if, contrary to our view, May could and should not have reacted until the final bounce of the ball, we find that he had sufficient time to position his body so that he was no longer attempting to gather the ball. "It's important to note in this regard that May had a relatively long period of time to sum up the key features of the contest. "May ran a sufficient distance and had sufficient time with an unimpeded view of what was before him to determine what he could and should do in the likely event he did not reach the ball first or at the same time." AAP
