Nurse ‘broke down in tears’ after changing room encounter with trans colleague

A nurse has told a tribunal how she broke down in tears after a trans colleague allegedly asked her three times if she was getting changed from her work clothes in the changing rooms.

Staff nurse Karen Danson is one of seven nurses taking County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to an employment tribunal after a colleague, Rose Henderson, who was born male but who identifies as a woman, was allowed to use the women’s changing facilities at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Mrs Danson, who has worked for the trust since 2019, claims there was an incident at work in August 2023 when Rose Henderson was wearing just black boxer shorts and work scrubs above the waist.

The witness told the employment tribunal in Newcastle that Rose Henderson asked three times if she was getting changed when they were alone together in the changing room.

Mrs Danson, who had experienced sexual abuse as a child, says she froze.

She went to a staff wellbeing room later, where, she told the hearing: “I broke down in tears.”

Tribunal judge Seamus Sweeney told the hearing that Rose Henderson will be referred to “Rose” or “they”.

The nurses bringing the claim work in the day surgery unit and have to travel to the hospital in their own clothes and change into their uniforms once they arrive.

If they leave the hospital for a break, they must change out of their uniforms.

They are bringing a claim for sexual harassment, discrimination, victimisation and breaches of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In their particulars of claim document, the nurses say that the health trust “permits any member of staff (regardless of sex and regardless of gender reassignment) to choose their ‘gender identity’ and to access a single-sex changing room on that basis”.

A spokesperson for the health trust said: “County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is committed to providing safe, respectful and inclusive care for patients and working environment for all colleagues.

“As this matter is the subject of ongoing Employment Tribunal proceedings, it would not be appropriate for the Trust to comment further while the case is active.”

In her witness statement, Mrs Danson said she first noticed Rose Henderson (RH) around August 2023 and thought that the colleague was male.

Mrs Danson stated: “RH looked masculine, had facial hair, and there was nothing in RH’s appearance to suggest RH was anything other than a man.

“I had heard a rumour that there was a trans person working with us, but I expected a trans person to look and dress and generally present themselves as a woman, so I did not connect that rumour with any particular individual.”

Regarding the incident in the changing rooms, when Rose Henderson was wearing boxer shorts, Mrs Danson said: “A quick look at RH left no room for doubt that he was a man.”

Saying she was asked three times if she was getting changed, Mrs Danson said: “I literally felt like I was glued to my seat. I could not move. I felt sick.

“My hands were sweaty.

“I did not know RH at this point, and I did not know that RH identified as a woman. It just seemed like there was a man in our changing room who wanted to watch me undress.”

She said her eyes filled with tears and she tried to play a game on her phone to distract herself from the situation before her colleague eventually left.

In her witness statement, Mrs Danson said she had been sexually abused from the age of six to 12, and the smirk on Rose Henderson’s face was the same as her abuser’s.

She said: “I have reflected on the incident many times since. RH must have known that I was very upset.

“He was only about a metre and a half away from me.

“I was sobbing, shaking and breathing heavily due to a panic attack.

“RH was smirking at me. He was definitely able to tell there was something wrong.

“Although all I said to him was a short ‘no’ three times, I could hear that my tone of voice in my replies to his question sounded increasingly stressed.

“I was petrified and it came across in the way I was speaking. I was angry at myself that I could not move.”

Mrs Danson said she suffered from stress following the incident and that she was off work for a period after.

Simon Cheetham KC, for the hospital trust, suggested that Mrs Danson was mistaken in her recollection about being asked three times if she was getting changed.

She replied: “I am 100%. I am not mistaken at all.”

Referring to her childhood abuse and the workplace allegation, she said: “Every time I talk about the incident in the changing room, it causes me heartache.

“Why would I cause myself pain if I didn’t need to?”

Mr Cheetham said Rose Henderson “absolutely denied” repeatedly asking her if she was getting changed.

The nurses claim Rose Henderson told colleagues that they were trying for a baby with their girlfriend and had stopped taking medication to transition – indicating that they were still biologically male.

But Mr Cheetham told Mrs Danson that Rose Henderson denied that they were trying for a baby and had never said that they were.

The hearing continues.