A female nurse in England is suing after she says she was investigated and disciplined by her hospital for accidentally addressing a trans-identifying male pedophile as “mister.”
Jennifer Melle, 40, was treating the criminal, referred to as Patient X by media outlets, after he was sent to the St. Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, from a men’s prison to receive treatment for a urinary problem, The Telegraph reported. Melle addressed the inmate as “mister” and “he” without knowing he identified as female.
Melle said she called the patient a male when discussing with another medical professional about the need for a male catheter to be removed.
“This was a real-life medical scenario that required accurate terminology to avoid any doubt between medical professionals,” she said.
The patient overheard this conversation, and that’s when he became enraged.
When she did so, Patient X took issue, and Melle told him that she could not refer to him with female pronouns because “it’s against my faith and Christian values but I can call you by your name.” The patient then allegedly began an angry and aggressive tirade against Melle, calling her the “n-word” three times.
“Imagine if I called you n*****? How about I call you n*****? Yes, black n*****,” the patient yelled, according to the outlet’s review of Melle’s lawsuit.
The patient also lunged at Melle despite being restrained and threatened to file a complaint against her, Melle alleged in her lawsuit.
“It was terrifying. I’d never been called that word before. And I thought I was going to be attacked,” she told the outlet.
Despite the patient’s outburst and alleged attack, it was Melle who suffered the consequences. She was investigated and disciplined by her hospital in October 2024, and received a final warning and a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Telegraph reported. Last month, she received a letter from that Council, saying it was assessing her ability to continue practicing as a nurse.
The Council’s code of conduct tells nurses they cannot “express your personal beliefs (including political, religious or moral beliefs) in an inappropriate way.” The Council told Melle that, although she “felt unable to identify Patient X using the preferred pronouns due to her religion… it could be perceived that [Ms Melle’s] actions could… be seen as a potential breach of the code.”
Melle said in her lawsuit that she did not believe she violated the Council’s code and noted that a white colleague also called the patient a male but was not investigated or disciplined. She believes her Christian beliefs could be to blame.
“Ever since I have expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman,” she said, according to the Telegraph.
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[[{“value”:”
A female nurse in England is suing after she says she was investigated and disciplined by her hospital for accidentally addressing a trans-identifying male pedophile as “mister.”
Jennifer Melle, 40, was treating the criminal, referred to as Patient X by media outlets, after he was sent to the St. Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, from a men’s prison to receive treatment for a urinary problem, The Telegraph reported. Melle addressed the inmate as “mister” and “he” without knowing he identified as female.
Melle said she called the patient a male when discussing with another medical professional about the need for a male catheter to be removed.
“This was a real-life medical scenario that required accurate terminology to avoid any doubt between medical professionals,” she said.
The patient overheard this conversation, and that’s when he became enraged.
When she did so, Patient X took issue, and Melle told him that she could not refer to him with female pronouns because “it’s against my faith and Christian values but I can call you by your name.” The patient then allegedly began an angry and aggressive tirade against Melle, calling her the “n-word” three times.
“Imagine if I called you n*****? How about I call you n*****? Yes, black n*****,” the patient yelled, according to the outlet’s review of Melle’s lawsuit.
The patient also lunged at Melle despite being restrained and threatened to file a complaint against her, Melle alleged in her lawsuit.
“It was terrifying. I’d never been called that word before. And I thought I was going to be attacked,” she told the outlet.
Despite the patient’s outburst and alleged attack, it was Melle who suffered the consequences. She was investigated and disciplined by her hospital in October 2024, and received a final warning and a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Telegraph reported. Last month, she received a letter from that Council, saying it was assessing her ability to continue practicing as a nurse.
The Council’s code of conduct tells nurses they cannot “express your personal beliefs (including political, religious or moral beliefs) in an inappropriate way.” The Council told Melle that, although she “felt unable to identify Patient X using the preferred pronouns due to her religion… it could be perceived that [Ms Melle’s] actions could… be seen as a potential breach of the code.”
Melle said in her lawsuit that she did not believe she violated the Council’s code and noted that a white colleague also called the patient a male but was not investigated or disciplined. She believes her Christian beliefs could be to blame.
“Ever since I have expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman,” she said, according to the Telegraph.
“}]]
