Nurse branded a ‘risk to the public’ for refusing to use a paedophile’s preferred pronouns wins settlement

An NHS nurse branded a ‘risk to the public’ for addressing a transgender pedophile as ‘Mr’ has won an out-of-court settlement.

Jennifer Melle, 41, from Croydon, was disciplined in May 2024 for refusing to use female pronouns for the 6ft tall bearded sex offender.

He was subjected to screaming racist abuse and threats of violence from the patient at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey.

Ms Melle was suspended from her position in March 2025 after going public with her experience; NHS officials were concerned that the patient’s identity might be revealed from media reports, even though his identity was not disclosed.

The single mother of two was reported to the professional regulator and kept away from work for ten months, despite being paid.

But he was finally reinstated in February this year after public outcry and a special disciplinary meeting ruled he had done nothing wrong.

Now Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has also cleared her of wrongdoing in telling her story and reached a settlement with the nurse ahead of her trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Ms Melle said on Monday: ‘I can’t discuss the terms of the deal, but overall I’m glad my employer has finally decided to extend me the olive branch.

Ms Melle, seen here with Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson and Health Minister Karen Smyth, has since returned to work

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch met Ms Melle in March to show her support

‘I’m looking forward to being able to focus on what I love, rather than defending myself against various outlandish accusations.’

The trust said it was ‘sorry’ for the nurse’s distress and confirmed it had given the patient a written warning that racist language would not be tolerated.

Despite the agreement, Ms Melle’s struggle will continue as she remains the subject of two ongoing NMC investigations.

These are long processes that may take years to conclude and may limit or even terminate your professional career.

Ms Melle added: ‘It should never have come to this. ‘No nurse or other medical professional should ever have to face what I did simply because I told the truth, did my job, and reported racist abuse and physical threats from a patient.’

He said the last two years had been the ‘darkest days of my life’ but ‘it’s still not over’.

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Law Centre, said: ‘Jennifer’s case is one of the most worrying we have ever seen.

‘[She was] ‘The man who racially abused and physically threatened her was treated as a victim and not as a criminal.’

A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘Racial abuse of our staff is never acceptable and discussing a patient’s private medical information publicly is also unacceptable.

‘We are sorry that Ms Melle had this experience and have issued a written warning to this patient, but we expect all staff to maintain patient confidentiality at all times.’

Ms Melle refused to use female pronouns for a patient and referred to them as ‘Mr’.

After speaking out about her experience, she was disciplined and eventually suspended

Ms Melle, who came to the UK from Uganda, had an impeccable professional record and worked at St Helier Hospital for 12 years, working her way up to the position of senior nurse.

On the night of May 22, 2024, he was told that the patient had been brought from the men’s prison for treatment and that he was a sex offender.

He entered the hospital chained to two guards and had a masculine appearance, being over five feet tall and of large build.

At 10 p.m., a distressed resident told her colleague, Ms. Melle, that the patient wanted to be discharged on his own and reported that the patient was yelling and upsetting other patients.

A doctor had been called to provide discharge guidance but had not yet responded; therefore Ms. Melle attended to the patient.

When he looked at the patient’s medical records, he saw that the patient was recorded as male, not female or ‘transgender’.

A woman’s name was written on the name board next to the bed.

When her colleague reached the doctor by phone, Ms. Melle asked to speak to him. He told the doctor: ‘Mr.

The patient who overheard the call shouted: ‘Don’t call me Mr! “I am a woman!” and subjected him to racist abuse.

Ms. Melle explained that she would not use female pronouns for the patient because it was against her Christian faith.

Earlier this year it was reported that more than 18,000 people had signed a petition calling for Ms Melle to be cleared of wrongdoing.

Her supporters included shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho, who described Ms Melle as ‘one of the bravest women I have ever met’.

‘Her case is evidence of how the NHS has been taken over by a radical gender ideology that places women at the bottom of the list,’ he said.

‘She was repeatedly failed by her employers and unions as she was punished for ‘misgendering’ a convicted pedophile.

‘She is a dedicated nurse who has provided excellent service for 13 years. ‘The NHS should not penalize hard-working nurses who know biological sex is real.’

After pressure from Ms Coutinho in the House of Commons, Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson agreed to meet Jennifer personally to discuss her treatment, and in March 2026 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also met with her.

Ms Badenoch underlined the seriousness of the case, while Phillipson confirmed in Parliament that no nurse in the NHS should be forced to use preferred pronouns; This statement highlighted the national implications of Jennifer’s experience.