NHS Fife told to urgently comply with single-sex spaces rules

NHS Fife has been told by the UK’s equality watchdog to “progress corrective actions without delay” regarding single-sex spaces after the health board admitted it failed to carry out an equality impact assessment previously.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) wrote to NHS Fife regarding access to single-sex facilities for staff on February 21, after the employment tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie against the health board adjourned.

Ms Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023.

She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, and cited concerns about “patient care”.

Ms Peggie has lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment; harassment related to a protected belief; indirect discrimination; and victimisation, and the case has been adjourned until September.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said NHS Fife previously admitted no equality impact assessment had been carried out and one is now expected around September 30, having been commissioned retrospectively.

The EHRC recently directed NHS Fife to take “corrective action” to ensure compliance with regulations which require public bodies to assess how policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics.

On June 10, it held a meeting to reiterate that the Scottish Government has a duty to ensure public bodies comply, following the UK Supreme Court ruling in April that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

On July 23, NHS Fife “assured the EHRC that it has taken steps in several areas, including a full review and audit of changing, toilet and locker room facilities”, and it “committed to ensuring there will be no delay in progressing all the compliance actions directed”, according to the regulator.

Baroness Falkner said the EHRC had “urged NHS Fife to progress the corrective actions we directed without delay” to “protect staff from discrimination and harassment”.

Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “This directive to NHS Fife is an unprecedented intervention from the EHRC.

“While long overdue, this is a clear instruction to NHS Fife – and all employers – that it cannot get away with continuing to flout the Equality Act.

“There have been relentless efforts to undermine the Supreme Court judgment since it was handed down.

“This leads to women being subjected to bullying, harassment and discrimination if they stand up, as Sandie Peggie did, for their right to undress with dignity and privacy.

“The EHRC has the power to hold employers, service providers and public sector bodies to account.”

The employment tribunal held further hearings in July before adjourning until September.

Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman Tess White said: “This damning directive from the EHRC confirms that on top of being negligent, incompetent and biased, NHS Fife broke the law in relation to the Sandie Peggie case.

“It’s abundantly clear that the positions of the chief executive and senior health board colleagues are completely untenable.

“The shameful admission from the health board confirms that Sandie Peggie was hung out to dry from the very beginning, simply for standing up for her rights as a woman. Fairness and accountability must prevail.

“The First Minister must clear out those at the top of NHS Fife and finally demand that it, and all other public bodies, upholds the clear and unequivocal Supreme Court ruling entitling women to single-sex spaces.”

Baroness Falkner said: “The policies and practices of all Scottish health boards must comply with the Equality Act 2010.

“We will continue to engage with NHS Fife and monitor its progress and the outcome of the measures it has committed to taking, to ensure compliance with the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty.”

NHS Fife said it welcomes continued engagement and oversight from the EHRC.

It said: “We are committed to working constructively with the EHRC to provide assurance that we fully understand, and are meeting, our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

“This includes considering the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling and the EHRC’s interim guidance.

“A comprehensive review and audit of our facilities has been completed, and an equality impact assessment is under way. This will be concluded and published by September 30, 2025.

“Our priority is to ensure that all NHS Fife policies and practices protect the rights of our staff and comply fully with equality legislation.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.