Rose Henderson, who was born male but identifies as female, is at the centre of a high-profile employment tribunal case involving eight nurses and the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
The case, being heard in Newcastle, centres on claims that the trust endangered female staff by allowing trans women to use the female changing facilities at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
In her evidence, Henderson denied accusations that she behaved inappropriately towards colleagues, including claims that she stared at women or walked around the changing area in boxer shorts.
“I am not the individual [the claimants] have painted me to be,” Henderson told the tribunal.
She explained that she had been open about being a trans woman since joining the trust as a student in 2019 and said her colleagues had always been accepting.
“The issue of where I would get changed, and my status among this group of women, was never queried,” she added.
Henderson said she had used the female changing rooms for more than four years without incident, only learning of the complaints in March 2024.
The tribunal heard that 26 hospital staff members had signed a letter of concern about Henderson’s use of the facilities. One complainant alleged that Henderson “stared at colleagues’ breasts,” while another claimed she “lingered unnecessarily” in the changing area.
One of the claimants, nurse Karen Danson, said she was left “sobbing” and “shaking” after an encounter with Henderson in September 2023, alleging that the trans nurse was “half-dressed, in a scrub top and tight black boxer shorts with holes in them.”
Danson claimed Henderson repeatedly asked her if she was getting changed, using what she described as a “male voice,” which triggered symptoms of PTSD linked to childhood trauma.
Henderson rejected those claims, saying she had only ever jokingly asked another female colleague who was a friend if she was nearly finished getting changed because she was in a hurry to leave work.
“I deny that I stare at colleagues, whether at their breast area or otherwise,” she stated. “I don’t tend to look at anyone when I’m getting changed, or when they are getting changed.”
Addressing the boxer shorts allegation, Henderson admitted she wore them due to “bottom dysphoria”, saying she was self-conscious about her lower body.
“I may have worn a pair of boxer shorts which had some holes in them,” she said. “But I have never walked around the changing room wearing only boxer shorts. That would make me very uncomfortable.”
She also said she suffered from “top dysphoria”, explaining she avoided being shirtless because of discomfort about her lack of breasts.
Henderson told the tribunal that no one from management had ever spoken to her about which changing room she should use, nor was she officially informed about the concerns raised by the 26 nurses until she read about them in the media.
The employment tribunal continues in Newcastle, where the case is expected to test workplace policies on transgender inclusion and female staff safety within the NHS.
