An employment tribunal brought by a nurse against NHS Fife and a trans doctor will be extended until later this year.
Sandie Peggie was suspended from her role at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in January 2024 just weeks after she complained about trans doctor Beth Upton sharing the female changing room on Christmas Eve.
Over ten days of hearings across two weeks, Judge Sandy Kemp heard testimony from both Peggie and Upton, as well as the claimant’s Clinical Nurse Manager, Esther Davidson.
Originally scheduled to take place across two weeks, Judge Kemp will now seek to resume hearings later in the year to complete the process.
Sandie Peggie (right) was suspended from her role at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in January 2024 just weeks after she complained about trans doctor Beth Upton (left) sharing the female changing room on Christmas Eve
PA
Peggie, who began working for the Fife Health Board in 1994, raised concerns after Upton used the same changing room on three occasions in 2023, prompting her to leave.
She said she had “very little” interaction with Upton, whom she met in August 2023.
“He looked male. He had his hair in a ponytail and a receding hairline and Adam’s apple,” Peggie said.
Peggie explained that she did not consider the incident on Christmas Eve to be a “confrontation” and denied using “offensive language” against Upton.
Giving evidence, she said: “I didn’t unexpectedly stop Beth as I was already in the area waiting to go into the toilet.
“I never used any offensive language. I don’t recall using the word chromosomes. I never mentioned the word rapist. I don’t recall anything being said about mediators. I didn’t feel there was any aggression or confrontation.”
Peggie had spoken about feeling intimidated when Upton continued to use the changing room after the Christmas Eve altercation.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
During a number of highly emotional hearings, Peggie maintained that she doesn’t take issue with Upton’s gender identity, only the use of the female changing room.
Peggie claims that her suspension amounts to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act 2010 and set out to build a case for an employment tribunal against both NHS Fife and Upton.
Previously, Upton and NHS Fife had asked the original employment judge presiding over the tribunal, Judge Antoine Tinnion, to hold the sessions in private to protect the identities of those involved.
However, Peggie argued successfully that the tribunal should be heard in public.
At a precursory meeting in January, Judge Kemp permitted Peggie to refer to Upton with male pronouns, on the condition it was not done "offensively" or "gratuitously".
The last two days of hearings have been dominated by the examination of testimony by Clinical Nurse Manager - and Peggie’s line manager - Esther Davidson.
The case revolves around three times in 2023 in which Peggie saw Upton in the female changing rooms at Victoria Hospital in KirkcaldyNHS FifeDavidson told the hearing she was informed NHS guidelines permit staff to use changing rooms that align to their identified gender.
The tenth day of hearings heard barrister Naomi Cunningham - representing claimant Peggie - cross-examine Davidson, the designated lead on the investigation into reports of levied by Upton at Peggie.
Cunningham labelled Upton “a bully” and an “aggressor” during the final day of hearings.
Addressing Davidson, she said: “The aggressor and bully is Beth Upton. The victim of that bullying is Sandie Peggie. The reversal of victim and defender is what happened here, with the full support of the NHS board."
Throughout the proceedings, Peggie’s family and supporters have been watching from the observation room.
Speaking outside Endeavour House in Dundee, Sheila Bell said her daughter has so far, “done everything perfectly.”
Daughter Nicole said: “We’re all proud of her - all of us - the whole family.”
The tribunal is now marked as “part-heard”, with future witnesses advised to refrain from following reports of proceedings before they are expected to be heard when hearings resume later in the year.
