A Scottish health board is seeking to bar the public from the online viewing of the conclusion of an employment tribunal centred around a transgender doctor using a female changing room.
NHS Fife has requested only media be allowed to watch the livestream of the case brought by nurse Sandie Peggie against the health board when it resumes in July.
It claims technical issues and “interruptions caused by non-media observers” caused “significant delays” to proceedings at earlier tribunal hearings in Dundee in February.
Ms Peggie was suspended from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January 2024 after she objected to Dr Beth Upton – a trans woman – using the changing facilities in the A&E department on Christmas Eve 2023.
The tribunal heard Ms Peggie was suspended following an allegation of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton.
The nurse later lodged a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 regarding three incidents when they shared a changing room – indirect harassment; victimisation; and whistleblowing.
The earlier tribunal hearings could initially be viewed virtually by members of the public, however the judge later restricted virtual access to accredited media.
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The health board has asked the tribunal for this approach to continue, but said members of the public would still be able to attend the hearings in person.
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NHS Fife said: “During the hearing in February, the employment tribunal restricted cloud video platform (virtual viewing) access to press/journalists due to technical issues, as well as interruptions caused by non-media observers.
“The technical issues and interruptions caused significant delays which impacted the tribunal’s progress. A request has therefore been made that this approach be maintained in July.
“If these requests are granted, accredited media and press outlets will still be permitted to report on matters and in-person public access to the hearing will remain available.”
The health board has also asked the tribunal to revoke the Tribunal Tweets group’s permission to live-tweet proceedings, saying there had been a public complaint about the posts.
Tribunal Tweets, policy analysis collective Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, and the organisations For Women Scotland and Sex Matters have together written to Nick Goodwin, chief executive of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), suggesting improvements to the online viewing system.
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Lisa Mackenzie, of Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said: “This is an important case that has generated considerable public interest.
“Seeking to restrict access to the HMCTS livestream, when there are very few seats in the public gallery, is a deeply cynical move by NHS Fife and one that we hope will be resisted by the judge.
“It should be pressing for the technical issues to be resolved instead of seeking to put in place further barriers to open justice.”
An HMCTS spokesperson said: “Decisions on how cases are conducted are made by the independent judiciary.
“In this case, all remote participants will be automatically muted at the point of joining the July hearing to minimise disruptions.”
