Nurse Fighting to Save Career After Discipline for Refusing to Call Convicted Transgender Paedophile a Woman

A senior NHS nurse from Croydon is fighting to save her career after being disciplined for refusing to refer to a convicted transgender paedophile as a woman. Jennifer Melle, 40, who was born in Uganda and has worked 12 years without incident, is now facing potential dismissal and investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over the incident at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust in Surrey.

Melle was disciplined after using male pronouns in reference to a biologically male patient – referred to as ‘Patient X’ for legal reasons – who is serving time in a high-security male prison for grooming underage boys online by pretending to be a teenage girl. The patient arrived at the hospital under guard, loudly complaining of a urinary problem, and became aggressive after overhearing Melle refer to them as “Mr” during a medical conversation with a doctor.

Following this, Melle says the patient unleashed a tirade of racist abuse, calling her the N-word multiple times and threatening violence. She says the patient also lunged toward her and shouted threats, demanding her NHS number and vowing to report her for “homophobia.”

Despite being the target of racist and threatening behaviour, Melle was issued a final written warning and referred to the NMC for allegedly breaching professional standards by not using the patient’s preferred gender identity. The Council later cited a potential breach of the code of conduct, stating that nurses must avoid expressing personal beliefs in ways deemed inappropriate and must respect patients’ individual identity choices.

Melle, who is a Christian, maintains that she treated the patient with dignity and care, offering to use their preferred first name but not female pronouns, which she said conflicted with her religious beliefs and biological reality. She insists her decision was also based on the context of a clinical discussion about a male-specific catheter.

Her concerns about racial discrimination intensified after learning that a white colleague had also referred to the patient as male without facing abuse or disciplinary action. Melle says she was left deeply shaken after the night shift and has since faced financial hardship due to a denial of overtime opportunities.

She is now suing the hospital trust for harassment, discrimination, and breaches of her human rights, arguing that her freedom of religion and expression under the European Convention on Human Rights has been unlawfully suppressed. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Melle says the incident marks a dangerous precedent where NHS staff can be punished for not conforming to compelled speech.

“I am devastated by how I have been treated,” said Melle. “I do not feel supported following the racial abuse and threat of violence I received. I always treat every individual with dignity and respect, and my conduct throughout my career has been in line with the code.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, described the case as “off the scale” and called on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to intervene, warning that NHS diversity policies are being weaponised against staff.

The hospital trust stated that the matter remains under internal investigation and declined to comment further.