The Health Secretary has met a group of nurses who are calling for the government to do whatever is necessary to ensure women have access to single-sex changing rooms and toilets.
The five Darlington nurses, who are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, have also handed in a petition signed by 48,000 people to Number 10 Downing Street.
Wes Streeting told the nurses at the meeting at the Department for Health and Social Care, that he is committed to the belief that sex is biological being reflected in the day-to-day running of the NHS under his watch. The meeting followed a statement Mr Streeting made in the lead up to the General Election in June when he said on X/Twitter that he was "horrified" by their case and wanted to meet.
The nurses had launched legal action against County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust over being forced to share a changing room with a man identifying as a woman.
Since August 2023, nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital, say they have been repeatedly ignored for raising concerns that without warning, a male staff member, identifying as ‘Rose’, had begun using the staff female changing room.
The Christian Legal Centre said that ‘Rose’ had admitted that he is not taking female hormones.
Concerned nurses discovered, however, that the Trust’s policies permit any member of staff who identifies as the opposite gender to access single-sex changing rooms, toilets or showers.
After 26 nurses wrote to senior management outlining their concerns, they were told via their ward manager that they needed to be ‘re-educated’, ‘broaden their mindset’ and be more ‘inclusive’.
However, Mr Streeting told one of the nurses: "I cannot say to you that you need to change your mindset. I don’t think that is healthy or fair."
During the 45-minute meeting, Mr Streeting said that he believes single-sex spaces matter and that something has "gone wrong in our society" on these issues. He said he would speak to NHS leadership and employers about how to navigate the issue.
Stating that the issue of why single-sex spaces are so important to women has not been "taken seriously enough", he added that "we have created an unnecessary conflict" and that society has moved backwards on equality.
Concluding the meeting, he said that the nurses had given him a lot to think about and that: "We’ve got to deal with this."
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “It’s heartening to have heard how well the meeting went between the Secretary of State for Health and the Darlington nurses. We are now hoping that common sense can be restored to the NHS to ensure safe spaces for women at work.
“A clear policy statement is required which reflects biological reality and protects women from this kind of upset and harm at work.
“Legislating to protect and promote ‘gender identity’ doesn’t reflect reality. It leads to numerous unforeseen consequences and unnecessary division at work and in public life.
“This is an untenable situation which we hope Mr Streeting will be able to solve. The Darlington nurses will continue their pursuit of justice. They have refused to suffer in silence. They speak to the reality of what many are experiencing within the NHS and across our public services and wider society. It’s time for sanity to be restored."