A nurse who was disciplined for calling a transgender paedophile “Mr” is facing dismissal for allegedly speaking publicly about her ordeal.

Jennifer Melle, 40, was issued with a final written warning after misgendering the patient at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, in May 2024.

Ms Melle said she referred to the individual, an inmate from a high-security men’s prison listed as male on their medical record, as “Mr” and “he” while discussing the use of a catheter.

She told them: “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 said the patient then subjected her to a racially and religiously aggravated assault, lunging at her and calling her a “n—–” three times.

Despite this, she was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over alleged breaches of its conduct policy. The NMC code states that nurses should not express personal beliefs “in an inappropriate way”, even for religious reasons.

Ms Melle, who has filed an employment tribunal claim against Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust for harassment and discrimination, now faces being dismissed.

Just as the Darlington nurses are celebrating their legal victory for sex-based rights, another nurse who says she is fighting the same battle, has her career hanging in the balance.

Nurse’s job on the line in Tuesday hearing

On Tuesday Ms Melle will be called before a disciplinary hearing, accused of breaching patient confidentiality by speaking to the media, an allegation she denies.

Her employer has highlighted another section of the NMC code, which states that nurses “owe a duty of confidentiality to all those who are receiving care”, including making sure “information about them is shared appropriately”.

Epsom and St Helier Hospitals believes Ms Melle is in breach of the code despite not naming the transgender patient or providing other identifying information, such as their age.

In 2023-24 there were 234 transgender inmates in the prison estate in England and Wales, the majority of whom were biologically male. More than 70 per cent are serving sentences for sex offences and violent crimes.

In a last-minute attempt to save Ms Melle’s job, Claire Coutinho, the shadow equalities minister, has started a petition urging the trust to drop the disciplinary action.

Writing for The Telegraph website, Ms Coutinho said the nurse “could lose her job at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday despite doing nothing wrong”.

“That’s why we have launched a petition calling on the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust not to dismiss her and I would encourage everyone to sign it at SaveJennifer.com,” she said.

Ms Melle told The Telegraph she was “deeply moved” by the support.

“This petition shows that people of all parties believe in fairness and truth,” she said. “I have always sought to provide the highest standard of care to every patient, but I cannot compromise reality or my faith. I pray that the Trust will do the right thing and allow me to return to the job I love.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, who are supporting the nurse’s legal case, said: “Jennifer has suffered at the hands of the NHS for nothing more than believing and expressing the truth, that men are men and women are women, rooted in her Christian faith.”

A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Racial abuse of our staff is never acceptable, nor is discussing a patient’s private medical information publicly.

“We are sorry that Miss Melle had this experience and we issued a written warning to this patient, but we expect all staff to maintain patient confidentiality at all times.”

The employment tribunal is due to start in April.

Eight nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital brought a claim against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust after Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman, was allowed to use female changing facilities.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, Employment Judge Seamus Sweeney ruled that the NHS had violated the nurses’ dignity and that the trust’s conduct amounted to harassment.

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Darlington nurses have been vindicated – now we must save Jennifer Melle from the sack

By Claire Coutinho

Eight remarkable women have been completely vindicated. After being forced to share a changing room with a biological man, the Darlington Nurses have finally won their employment tribunal.

The ruling shows how politically captured our health service has become when it comes to issues of sex and gender. NHS pencil-pushers spent years fighting these brave nurses – patronising, belittling and harassing them when all they did was raise concerns about their safety and privacy.

The vice-like grip that radical gender ideology had over bureaucrats in the Darlington NHS Trust meant that they prioritised the feelings of a single trans-identifying male over the dignity of dozens of women who just wanted to change into their scrubs in a female-only space.

The simple truth is that everyone is entitled to a single-sex space to change at work under the law and they always have been. The Supreme Court ruling last year confirmed that in the Equality Act, “sex” means a person’s biological sex. Yet NHS Trusts and public bodies across the country are refusing to implement that ruling, aided and abetted by a Labour government that is so scared of its own backbenchers that they are refusing to enforce it.

The Darlington Nurses and Sandie Peggie may have been vindicated in court, but remarkably, other nurses in the NHS are still being subjected to politically motivated witch-hunts simply for expressing their protected belief in the reality of biological sex.

In the next few days, a new battle for common sense on sex and gender will emerge as a dedicated nurse called Jennifer Melle faces the sack for doing nothing wrong.

Almost two years ago Jennifer, a black Christian nurse with 12 years’ unblemished reputation was subjected to a torrent of racist abuse by a transgender patient.

The patient was a convicted paedophile who was described as male on his medical records and was serving time in a men’s prison. Jennifer had referred to the patient as ‘Mister’ to a doctor outside the room while discussing his medical needs. Upon overhearing her, the patient called the nurse a ‘n—-r’ multiple times and became physically aggressive.

During the incident Jennifer remained calm and continued to treat the patient with care. However, instead of being celebrated for her professional conduct in the face of abuse, her NHS Trust and professional bodies brought politically charged disciplinary proceedings against her.

The people who were meant to protect her – including her employer and trade union – ran for the hills. Jennifer was investigated by her employer and received a written warning for not respecting the patient’s gender identity. She was subsequently accused of breaching patient confidentiality and suspended from the job she loves, simply for speaking out about her appalling treatment by the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.

Now Jennifer, a single mother, has been told she could lose her job at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday despite doing nothing wrong. That’s why we have launched a petition calling on the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust not to dismiss her and I would encourage everyone to sign it at www.SaveJennifer.com.

The disciplinary processes these women are being put through are interminable. They are more akin to the struggle sessions seen under Chairman Mao. The process is the punishment, which provokes fear and instils control. Why ask for your right to single-sex spaces to be upheld if the consequence could be losing your income, your profession and your reputation?

Jennifer politely told a patient she would use their chosen female name but could not use female pronouns. That is within the bounds of the law and surely has caused less harm to the organisation then the Trust’s shameful conduct, which has seen a well-regarded nurse dragged over the coals and left undefended against racist abuse.

Especially after the Supreme Court judgement, it is the NHS Trusts who see these actions as causes for disciplinary proceedings in the first place who are in the wrong.

Biological sex is real. That is not ‘stoking a culture war’ or a matter of opinion. It is a legal and biological fact. The victories of the Darlington Nurses and Sandie Peggie should serve as a warning to NHS Trusts who continue to waste taxpayers’ money on spurious disciplinary investigations into women who just want to protect their legal rights and beliefs which are protected under the law.

The Government should end its dithering and make clear that these witch-hunts must be dropped immediately and the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust must intervene to make sure no further disciplinary action is taken against Jennifer Melle.

If you would like to sign the petition calling for Jennifer Melle follow this link.

Claire Coutinho is the shadow equalities minister