by Chris Pollard, Daily Mail
A nurse who referred to a transgender paedophile patient as ‘mister’ has been allowed to keep her job in the NHS amid an outpouring of support from colleagues and MPs.
Jennifer Melle faced losing her job for speaking out about the incident in May 2024, during which she was subjected to screaming racist abuse and threats of violence from the patient.
Protesters including the Darlington nurses, who last week won their case against an NHS hospital that allowed a male-born colleague to use the women’s changing rooms, gathered outside the hospital headquarters in Epsom, Surrey, where Jennifer was hauled before a disciplinary panel today.
They held placards reading: ‘Safe spaces for women’ and ‘Uphold reality’.
After her crunch hearing, from which press and public were excluded, Ms Melle said she was ‘deeply relieved and grateful’.
‘This has been an incredibly long and painful journey,’ she said. ‘I want to give thanks, first and foremost, to Jesus, who has sustained me every step of the way.
‘I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stood with me, prayed for me, and supported me through the darkest moments. Your encouragement has meant more than you will ever know.
‘The recent legal victory for the Darlington nurses has shown that sanity and common sense are finally beginning to return to the NHS. It marks a turning point. No more nurses should ever have to endure what I have gone through.