A NURSE faces losing her job after calling a transgender inmate from a high security mens prison “Mister”.
Jennifer Melle, 40, insisted on calling the convicted sex offender by their name instead of using “her” or “she” due to her Christian beliefs.
Despite the fact that the incident took place almost two years ago, she now faces being dismissed in a disciplinary hearing held on Tuesday, January 20.
In May 2024 she was issued a final written warning after misgendering the patient, referred to Patient X.
The prisoner, is said to have kicked off over being described as “Mister” during a phone call with a doctor from St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey.
Jennifer told the Telegraph that she referred to the inmate from a high-security men’s prison, listed on their record as male, as “Mr” and “he”.
The dispute began after the senior nurse had been discussing using a catheter on her patient.
The inmate lured boys into performing sex acts by posing online as a girl.
She said to Patient X: “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.”
Then, according to the nurse, the prisoner went for her in a racially and religiously aggravated attack, calling her “n*****” three times.
Shortly after the assault Jennifer was reported to Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over alleged breaches of its conduct policy.
The Council’s code states that nurses cannot express their personal beliefs, even if they are rooted in religion, “in an inappropriate way”.
In response Jennifer filed an employment tribunal claim against Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust for harassment and discrimination.
The mum-of-three was given a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council following a disciplinary hearing in October 2024.
The nurse is also accused of breaching patient confidentiality by speaking to the media, which she denies.
According to the NMC code staff “owe a duty of confidentiality to all those who are receiving care”, including making sure “information about them is shared appropriately”.
Claire Coutinho, the shadow equalities minister, has started a petition urging the trust to drop the disciplinary action.
Writing in The Telegraph Coutinho said the nurse “could lose her job at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday despite doing nothing wrong”.
“That’s why we have launched a petition calling on the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust not to dismiss her and I would encourage everyone to sign it,” she added.
The nurse has also criticised the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) after it refused to intervene in her case and stalled implementing its judgement, citing the need to wait for regulatory guidance.
Jennifer said: “I was racially abused in my workplace, and instead of protecting me, the Trust punished me.
“My Christian faith teaches me that sex is immutable. I should not be forced to deny that truth to keep my job.
“The Supreme Court has spoken clearly: biological sex matters in law. Yet the RCN, an organisation that claims to champion equality, chooses delay over action.
“Nurses like me are left vulnerable while ideology trumps reality. This is not inclusion; it is discrimination.”
This comes just days after a group of nurses who successfully sued the NHS over a trans colleague using a female changing room today hailed their win as a “victory for common sense”.
The seven women took on County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust after Rose Henderson – who was born male but identifies as a woman – shared their facilities.
They claimed Henderson walked around the changing rooms in boxer shorts and stared at women.
A tribunal has now found they suffered harassment, which violated their dignity and created “a hostile, intimidating, humiliating and degrading environment for them”.
Darlington nurse Bethany Hutchison, who led the claim, said: “This is a victory for common sense and for every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work.
