A senior nurse who addressed a transgender paedophile as ‘Mister’ has been suspended after speaking to The Mail on Sunday.
Jennifer Melle, 40, was previously investigated and disciplined by NHS bosses despite being called the N-word three times by the patient, a convicted sex offender, who lunged at her.
Now, after a four-minute meeting with a manager last week, she was suspended, ordered to collect her belongings and escorted out of St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, in tears.
Last night Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described Ms Melle’s treatment as ‘completely crazy’. She said: ‘She has my full support. 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 paedophiles.’
Ugandan-born Ms Melle, from Croydon, South London, spoke to this newspaper last month about her ordeal. She said that in response to being called ‘he’ rather than ‘she’, the paedophile, known as Patient X, flew into a rage and left her fearing for her safety.
The nurse has now been told she faces investigation over a ‘potential breach’ of patient information.
Ms Melle told the MoS: ‘I am devastated to have been suspended just for whistleblowing. Despite being the one placed at risk, I am the one being punished. The message I have received is clear: I am expected to tolerate racism, deny biological reality and suppress my deeply held Christian beliefs.’
After her story was published, Ms Melle was praised by colleagues. They told her of their own encounters with Patient X, who turned up last year from a high-security men’s prison to receive treatment for a urinary problem.
Jennifer Melle, 40, who addressed a transgender paedophile as ‘Mister’ has been suspended after speaking to The Mail on Sunday
After a four-minute meeting with a manager last week, she was suspended, ordered to collect her belongings and escorted out of St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, in tears
During the evening shift, a colleague told Ms Melle the patient wanted to self-discharge and a doctor was called for guidance. Ms Melle spoke to the doctor on the phone outside the patient’s room, during which she referred to the patient as ‘Mister’ and ‘he’. She said she was discussing a catheter for a male, adding: ‘This was a medical scenario that required accurate terminology.’
Overhearing, the patient took issue with the male pronoun. The nurse replied she was ‘sorry I cannot refer to you as ‘her’ or ‘she’, as it’s against my faith’.
The patient began to verbally abuse the nurse, saying: ‘Imagine if I called you n*****? How about I call you n*****? Yes, black n*****.’
Ms Melle said: ‘It was terrifying. I’d never been called that word. I thought I was going to be attacked.’
But it was Ms Melle who was punished by the hospital with a final warning and a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Now she is filing a legal claim against the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust for harassment, discrimination and human rights breaches.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Ms Melle, said: ‘This is blatant, unlawful victimisation. Jennifer’s decision to speak out about her treatment is a legally protected act under the Equality Act.
The nurse has now been told she faces investigation over a ‘potential breach’ of patient information
‘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 shouting racist abuse – over a Christian nurse. We call on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to intervene.’
A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘We expect all members of staff to follow professional standards – this includes maintaining confidentiality for any patients in their care at all times.’
