An NHS nurse faces losing her job after referring to a transgender patient in her care as “Mr” and refusing to use she/her pronouns, saying doing so was against her Christian beliefs.
Jennifer Melle, 40, was working as a nurse at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton in Sutton. When discussing the care of her patient — who was a convicted paedophile and an inmate at a high-security prison — she referred to them using a male pronoun and title.
The patient, referred to as Patient X, took issue with the title, to which Ms Melle responded: “sorry I cannot refer to you as ‘her’ or ‘she’, as it’s against my faith and Christian values, but I can call you by your name”.
Ms Melle claims the patient then subjected her to racial and religious aggravated assault, lunging at her and repeatedly used racial slurs.
An investigation into Ms Melle’s conduct accused her of “not respecting the patient’s preferred identity” and concluded her actions could “be seen as a potential breach” of the NMC Code of Conduct.
Ms Melle was asked to make a statement, attend an HR meeting was and redeployed to another ward of the hospital.
She subsequently filed a legal claim alleging harassment, discrimination and breaches of her human rights.
She has also criticised the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) for refusing to intervene in her case and for delaying the implementation of its judgment while it waits for regulatory guidance.
“I was racially abused in my workplace, and instead of protecting me, the Trust punished me,” Ms Melle said.
“My Christian faith teaches me that sex is immutable. I should not be forced to deny that truth to keep my job.
“The Supreme Court has spoken clearly: biological sex matters in law. Yet the RCN, an organisation that claims to champion equality, chooses delay over action. Nurses like me are left vulnerable while ideology trumps reality. This is not inclusion; it is discrimination.”
Ms Melle is due to face a hearing next week, where she will be informed of the action against her, which could result in her losing her job.
Shadow women and equalities minister Claire Coutinho has written to the NHS Trust to demand no further disciplinary action be taken against the nurse, stating she has been “abandoned by the institutions that were supposed to protect her.”
In her letter the MP wrote: “Ultimately, this is about a nurse who has given over a decade of service to the NHS and who, through no fault of her own, was subjected to racial abuse at work by a transgender convicted paedophile.
“She was then abandoned by the institutions that were supposed to protect her, but which have instead surrendered to the influence of radical gender ideology.”
Ms Coutinho described Ms Melle’s case as a “grave injustice” and said the prospect of “dismissal” had been particularly distressing, adding that as a single mother Ms Melle would struggle to secure another nursing job while the investigation remains ongoing.
A spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We expect all members of staff to follow professional standards such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s code of conduct – this includes maintaining confidentiality for any patients in their care at all times.
“There is no excuse for racially abusing our staff and we’re sorry that Ms Melle had this experience.
“As our internal proceedings are still ongoing, it wouldn’t be right for us to comment further.”
