Nurse Punished for Saying ‘Mr’ to Transgender Paedophile
24th March 2025
A National Health Service (NHS) nurse is taking legal action against her employer—after she was punished for calling a convicted criminal ‘mister,’ in contravention of his preferred (female) pronouns.
Jennifer Melle filed her legal claim against Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust following its pursuit of her in an October 2024 disciplinary action, resulting in a final written warning and a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The trust also placed her on restricted duties, resulting in a loss of overtime payments.
Melle’s ordeal began when ‘Patient X,’ who had been admitted earlier from a men’s prison with a urinary problem, attempted to discharge himself from the hospital. ‘X’ overheard the nurse discussing his case—involving a catheter and his objective medical records—on a telephone call, and reportedly lunged at Ms. Melle while shouting racial epithets.
Melle responded by saying she would use the 6’ (183 cm) tall convict’s chosen female name, but that her Christian beliefs meant she would not be calling him a woman. After saying, “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,” the nurse was threatened, both physically and with an official complaint.
In response, her employer 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.