A Christian nurse in England who had been punished for saying “Mister” to a transgender prisoner has been suspended without explanation on a vague allegation of potential “gross misconduct,” according to a Christian rights group.
Jennifer Melle last week was summoned to meet with the chief nurse of Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in England, where the Ugandan-born resident of Croydon was told there had been a “potential data breach” after Melle shared her story with media that could amount to “gross conduct,” rights group Christian Concern reported.
“Pushed on what the grounds for suspension were for a nurse with an unblemished record, the Chief Nurse refused to state the specifics of the allegations pending a full investigation,” Christian Concern stated.
Suspended with full pay and banned from the hospital premises, Melle was told to collect her belongings and was escorted “in tears” from the hospital premises.
“I am devastated to have been suspended simply for whistleblowing,” Melle said. “To this day, I have not even been told what I have supposedly done wrong. As a dedicated Christian nurse, I am experiencing relentless institutional abuse, harassment, bullying, and racial discrimination. Ever since I expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman.”
Hospital superiors had called her a “potential risk” for saying “Mister” to a transgender prisoner jailed for luring boys into sex acts by pretending to be a teenage girl on social media. The prisoner leveled a racial slur at her, and National Health Service (NHS) lawyers reportedly termed her biblical beliefs on gender “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
“Despite being the one placed at risk, I am the one being punished,” Melle said. “I have been made to feel like a criminal.”
Melle said an underlying anti-Christian message had become evident by the health authority during the investigation.
“The message I have received throughout this investigation is clear: I am expected to tolerate extreme racism, deny biological reality and suppress my deeply held Christian beliefs – all in the name of ‘inclusivity’ and protecting falsehoods,” she said. “I am trusting in Jesus to guide me through this. I must take a stand. I genuinely worry about how many other NHS workers are silently enduring similar injustices.”
The conflict with her employer gained the attention of Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, the main opposition in the U.K. Parliament. Last night (April 6) Badenoch described Melle’s treatment as “completely crazy.”
“She has my full support,” Badenoch reportedly said. “It’s time the government pulls its finger out and intervenes to make it clear no one should be punished at work for stating biological reality to pedophiles.”
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Melle has launched an appeal against Epsom and St. Helier NHS Foundation Trust for discrimination, harassment, victimization and breaches of her human rights under Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Court of Human Rights. The full employment tribunal hearing is expected next February.
Melle encountered the unnamed inmate, brought from a men’s prison for hospital treatment, during a night shift on May 22. He entered the hospital chained to two guards, and was “clearly masculine in appearance, standing over six feet tall and of large build,” according to Christian Concern.
At 10 p.m., Melle learned the inmate wanted to discharge himself from the hospital. He was reportedly shouting and upsetting other patients on the ward. She told a doctor by phone that “Mr. X [as identified by Christian Concern] would like to self-discharge,” but the prisoner, overhearing her, allegedly shouted, “Do not call me Mister! I am a woman!”
Christian Concern reported the prisoner racially abused Melle when she approached his room. Melle told him, “I am 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,” according to Christian Concern.
The prisoner responded, “Imagine if I called you nigger. How about I call you nigger? Yes, black nigger,” according to Christian Concern.
Melle required help from security as the inmate reportedly lunged threateningly at her. He followed her out of the room and threatened to report her to police for “homophobia” and to the health authority’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
Under pressure from hospital management to make a statement, she outlined her Christian belief that God created humanity male and female. Superiors told her she had to attend a meeting with Human Resources, and that if she refused to comply, she would be sent home until an investigation was completed.
Managers redeployed her to another hospital unit, a move amounting to a demotion, according to Christian Concern. They also deleted her name from the internal system so she could no longer work over-time, affecting her family income.
Management gave her a final written warning at a disciplinary hearing in October.
Health leaders accused her of “not respecting the patient’s preferred identity,” saying her actions and behavior had “fallen short of the Trust’s value of respect.”
Her case was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after an investigation concluded Melle broke the NMC Code of Conduct, which states nurses should not express personal beliefs inappropriately.
Melle stated that her conduct had been fully compliant with the code throughout her career, including during the reported incident with the transgender patient.
“I have been put at risk, but I am being treated like a criminal,” she said in a previous Christian Concern statement.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, called the suspension “blatant, unlawful victimization.”
“Jennifer’s decision to speak out about her treatment is a legally protected act under the Equality Act,” Williams said.
“The NHS has become so entrenched in transgender ideology that it is willing to side with a man brought in from prison in chains – who was openly shouting racist abuse – over a Christian nurse. We have seen many shocking cases in recent years, but what Jennifer Melle is enduring takes this issue to a whole new, deeply disturbing level.”
Williams called for both an “immediate U-turn” and a “full apology” from the health authority, “not a suspension and yet another investigation,” she pointed out.
“Internal investigations usually become very prolonged and an exercise in buying time to piece together the NHS narrative,” added Williams. “We call on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to intervene. He is already engaged in the Darlington nurses’ case and has expressed his horror at their treatment. It is time for government action to stop this injustice. We will stand with Jennifer for as long as it takes to secure justice – not just for her, but for all nurses who face discrimination under this harmful ideology.”
