NHS nurses have been given "kindness training" after they complained about a trans colleague using the female changing room, a tribunal has heard.
Bethany Hutchison, the lead claimant of seven nurses who are taking on a health trust, is claiming sexual discrimination and sexual harassment because fellow nurse Rose Henderson, who was born male but identifies as a woman, was able to share female changing rooms.
Ms Hutchison said at the tribunal: "We have had to go through 'kindness' training because of this, and no one who is opposed is allowed to say anything."
She claimed that several of her colleagues were distressed by having to undress in front of Henderson.
Karen Danson previously told the hearing that Henderson caused a flashback to child sexual abuse trauma when they shared the changing room.
Ms Danson said she was left "sobbing and shaking" after becoming "alarmed" by Henderson, who "was clearly watching" her change.
The seven nurses have been supported by the likes of JK Rowling, who said before the hearing that "millions of women support them".
The hearing heard that NHS bosses allegedly told nurses that Henderson would "educate them to broaden their mindset".
Renowned author JK Rowling said 'millions of women support' the nurses
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Ms Hutchison explained that her ward manager told her in April last year that the trust "were in support of Rose", noting that 26 nurses had signed a letter of concern about the situation, "had to be educated, broaden our mindset and be more inclusive".
The claimant said it should be Henderson to conduct this training.
In her witness statement, Ms Hutchison said: "I remember this conversation with (the ward manager) so well because I was extremely upset by the news I heard from her.
"I realised that the management were not going to support us and were only going to label us 'bigots, unreasonable, unkind and not inclusive'. I felt this was extremely unfair."
Henderson begun working at Darlington Memorial Hospital in 2019, identifying as a woman, meaning she shared the changing rooms with female nurses.
Ms Hutchison, said she first became aware of Henderson in 2023, when they met on a ward and she noticed "his face looked completely masculine and he spoke with a deep manly voice".
She noted that several colleagues "expressed their feelings of embarrassment and distress because they had to undress in front of a biological male".
Speaking for the hospital trust, Simon Cheetham KC suggested to Ms Hutchison that the claimants had "embellished" their account of what happened.
NHS bosses allegedly told nurses that Henderson would 'educate them to broaden their mindset'
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She responded: "It is outrageous to say we are lying."
Mr Cheetham stated that he never accused the nurses of lying, explaining that he thought they "exaggerated" the truth.
Lawyer Uzochi Nwaubani from the Christian Legal Centre said the case is about "truth and dignity" and protecting women's rights to single-sex spaces.
She told GB News: "The trust has failed to recognise the law. This isn't about exclusion; it's about ensuring women have safe spaces."
The hearing continues.