The Nursing and Midwifery Council has decided that no action needs to be taken against a Christian nurse who refused to use the preferred pronouns of a transgender patient.
The council (NMC) opened an investigation into Jennifer Melle over a "possible risk to the public – or to the public’s confidence in nurses, midwives and nursing associates".
The investigation related to "regulatory concerns" about a possible “failure to treat people in your care with dignity – in that you, on one or more occasions, referred to a patient in a manner inconsistent with their gender identity".
A second investigation was launched after Ms Melle spoke to the media about her case, leading to accusations of a "data breach".
The investigations related to an incident that occurred during a night shift in May 2024 when a biologically male convicted paedophile who identified as female was brought in for treatment from a male prison.
During a clinical discussion with a doctor about his discharge, Ms Melle declined to use the patient's preferred female pronouns but did offer to use his preferred name. The patient became upset, threatening violence against Ms Melle and racially abusing her.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust launched an investigation into Ms Melle over the incident, and later suspended her and referred her to the NMC.
The Trust's disciplinary case against Ms Melle for speaking to the media was dropped in January. It found that no misconduct occurred.
In her defence to the NMC, Ms Melle maintained that her use of male pronouns occurred in a fast-moving clinical situation where accurate sex-based language was necessary to avoid confusion between medical professionals, and that she acted according to her Christian belief that sex is biological and immutable.
She told the NMC the incident was "not about equality, diversity or inclusion" but "a real life medical scenario that required accurate terminology", and that she spoke to the media because she felt she was being treated like a criminal. She also accused the NMC of prioritising the identity of a convicted paedophile over her Christian conscience to use language reflecting biological reality and biblical teaching.
The NMC has now confirmed that Ms Melle has no case to answer, concluding that the incident was “isolated” and “driven by [her] own protected characteristic of religious belief rather than a desire to harass or bully" the patient.
The NMC said, "In summary, we do not consider that this is one of those rare cases where the way you conducted yourself suggests a deep-seated attitudinal problem or that what you are alleged to have done is so serious that a finding of impairment may be necessary to protect the public or maintain the public’s confidence and trust in the professions and to uphold professional standards.
"We therefore conclude that there is no realistic possibility that your fitness to practise would be found currently impaired.
"Following our conclusions on facts and current impairment, we have determined there is no case for you to answer.”
Responding to the NMC’s decision, Ms Melle said she was "relieved and grateful" at the outcome but added that she "should never have been put through this in the first place" and called for "accountability".
“I was a nurse doing my job in a pressured clinical situation. The issue of biological sex was directly relevant to patient care. I was not seeking to humiliate or hurt anyone. I was trying to communicate accurately and safely with another medical professional," she said.
“Instead of being protected after suffering racist abuse, I found myself treated as the problem. I was suspended, investigated, threatened with the loss of my career and reported to my regulator as though my Christian beliefs and my recognition of biological reality made me dangerous.
“It has been devastating to be labelled a risk to the public for holding beliefs which are lawful, mainstream and central to my faith. Nurses should not have to choose between their conscience, the truth, and their profession."
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which supported Ms Melle throughout her case, called for "urgent reform" of the NMC. It follows a meeting with Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson earlier this year in which she informed Ms Melle there was nothing she could do as the NMC was not accountable to government ministers.
"There must also be urgent reform of the NMC," said Ms Williams.
"It must not be captured by activist ideology or used as a weapon against nurses who hold lawful Christian or gender-critical beliefs. A regulator exists to protect the public and uphold professional standards, not to enforce contested political doctrines on sex and gender.
“The Supreme Court has confirmed the importance of biological sex in law. Healthcare depends on truth, clarity and trust. Nurses must be free to speak accurately about sex, protect single-sex spaces, and act according to conscience without fear of being reported to their regulator as though they are extremists."
Ms Williams called on the NMC to drop its investigations into four Darlington nurses, also being supported by the CLC, who refused to share a female changing room with a biologically male transgender nurse.
Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho, who launched a cross-party petition in support of Ms Melle, welcomed the NMC's decision, saying: “Jennifer has been put through two years of witch hunts by the institutions that were meant to protect her. This decision by the NMC is welcome, but it should never have been allowed to get to this point.
"Jennifer did nothing wrong. She was just doing her job when she was racially abused simply for stating the reality of biological sex.
"The NMC and all the other organisations that let her down need to learn serious lessons from the ordeal that Jennifer and other nurses like her have been put through. We need to know how many more hardworking nurses are still waiting for justice.”
