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A nurse warned over using incorrect pronouns to address a transgender patient will face no further action over concerns she breached patient confidentiality when she spoke to the media about the incident, Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust said.
Jennifer Melle faced a private disciplinary meeting with Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust on Tuesday.
Ms Melle, 40, from Croydon, south London, said she was racially abused by a transgender patient at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton in May 2024 after she referred to them as “Mr”.
The nurse was given a written warning from the trust at the time and continued in her role, and the trust also wrote to the patient to warn them that threatening and racist language was not tolerated.
After Ms Melle spoke to the media about her experience in March 2025, she was suspended with full pay, over concerns the patient could have been identified from press reports, potentially breaching patient confidentiality.
Ms Melle is taking the trust to an employment tribunal in April over claims of harassment, direct discrimination and indirect discrimination, because of her gender critical beliefs, relying on the protected characteristic of religion or belief because of her evangelical Christian beliefs.
She has been supported in her case by Darlington nurses Bethany Hutchison and Lisa Lockey, and Fife nurse Sandie Peggie, who have all been involved in tribunals regarding facilities shared with transgender colleagues.
Source: Nurse in patient pronoun row will face no further action, trust says