A SENIOR nurse is suing an NHS Trust after being investigated and disciplined for not referring to a transgender paedophile by female pronouns.
Jennifer Melle, 40, insisted on calling the convicted sex offender by their name instead of using ‘her’ or ‘she’ due to her Christian beliefs.
Christian ConcernSenior nurse Jennifer Melle insisted on calling the convicted sex offender by their name[/caption]
The TimesShe is suing Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust[/caption]
The prisoner, referred to as Patient X, is said to have sparked the gender row over being described as ‘Mr’ during a phone call with a doctor.
Ms Melle claims the inmate, who lured boys into performing sex acts by posing online as a girl, lunged at her and called her “n*****” in May last year.
She was asked to make a statement, attend a HR meeting and redeployed to another ward at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey.
The mum-of-three was given a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council following a disciplinary hearing in October.
An investigation report 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.
She is now taking legal action against Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust on the grounds of harassment, discrimination and human rights breaches.
Ugandan born Ms Melle, from Croydon, south London, said: “I have been put at risk, but I am being treated like a criminal.
“Sadly, if you put your head above the parapet and speak truthfully on these issues in the NHS the risk is that you will be knocked down, punished severely and demoted.
“The message to me during the investigation is that I should put up with extreme racism and deny biological reality and my deeply held Christian beliefs, for the sake of ‘inclusivity’ and respecting lies.”
Ms Melle is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, whose Chief Executive Andrea Williams said: “The Trust cannot force compelled speech on their staff and an urgent U-turn and apology is needed.
“The NHS appears to remain captured by transgender ideology to the point it is prepared to back a convicted paedophile, who was clearly very disturbed and shouting racist comments, over the Christian nurse.”
An Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson told The Mail on Sunday: “These matters are still subject to ongoing internal proceedings, so it wouldn’t be right for us to comment further.”
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