Why NHS and other public services need better guidelines about women-only spaces

Providing staff a place to get changed should be a relatively simple and uncontroversial undertaking

The employment tribunal dispute between nurse Sandie Peggie and trans doctor Beth Upton over the latter’s use of the women’s changing room in the Fife hospital where they both worked has given rise to concerns that there will be many more such cases.

If this turns out to be true, it could cause considerable disruption to public services. When thinking about how to deal with this, the overriding concern should be that the NHS, police and any other affected services are able to do their vitally important jobs. Lives are, after all, at stake.

In a Scottish Parliament debate tomorrow, the Scottish Conservatives will call for SNP ministers to give new guidance to the public sector about female-only spaces. Party leader Russell Findlay said that while the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which would have introduced gender self-identification, had been “rightly blocked” by the UK Government, some public sector employers had adopted “Nicola Sturgeon’s reckless policy” anyway.

Sandie Peggie, a nurse at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, has taken NHS Fife to an employment tribunal (Picture: Andrew Milligan) | PA

"The SNP Government must provide firm, clear instructions to public sector employers that the rights of women transcend those of male-bodied individuals, including dangerous predators, who seek to access female toilets and changing areas,” he said.

“It defies belief that John Swinney says he still backs gender self-ID despite the grotesque farce of a rapist being housed in a women's prison. No wonder public bodies are all over the place on this issue."

Following various controversies – including the case Findlay referred to, of double-rapist Adam Graham who was, at first, disgracefully sent to a women’s prison – the First Minister might not be overly keen to get involved in this issue again, but he may find his hand is forced. This is an issue that has developed a habit of forcing its way to the top of the political agenda.

Providing staff a place to get changed should be a relatively simple undertaking, an uncontroversial and practical matter. But the rules need to be clear to all concerned to avoid unexpected and unpleasant encounters.

In finding a solution, pragmatism, not adherence to one ideology or the other, should be the government’s watchword.