Nurse suspended after using incorrect pronouns to address trans patient wins settlement from NHS trust

The patient, who was an inmate from a high-security men's prison, was listed as male and was referred to as "he" on his medical records.

But when the Christian nurse, originally from Uganda, referred to him as so, she claimed he racially abused her and lunged to attack her in a terrifying ordeal.

As a result, Ms Melle was set to face an employment tribunal against Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, starting on Monday.

However, both parties have reached a settlement and the nurse has returned to work at the hospital.

Ms Melle said she was unable to speak about the details of the settlement but announced she was "glad" her employer "finally decided to extend an olive branch" to her.

She added: “I look forward to being able to focus on the job I love instead of defending myself against various bizarre accusations.

“It should never have come to this. No nurse or other medical professionals should ever have to face what I have faced simply for telling the truth, doing their job, and reporting racist abuse and physical threats from a patient.”

The NHS nurse, however, still faces two investigations launched by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), whose code of conduct instructs that nurses should not display their religious beliefs "in an inappropriate way".

On the ongoing investigation, she said: "My ordeal matters not only for me, but for every nurse who should be able to practice according to conscience, biological reality, and basic safeguarding principles without fear.

"I have been through the darkest days of my life and it is still far from over."

During the intense conflict between Ms Melle and the paedophile, the inmate is said to have uttered racial slurs at the medic on three occasions at the hospital.

However, the nurse said she told the patient: "Sorry, I cannot refer to you as ‘her’ or ‘she’, as it’s against my faith and Christian values, but I can call you by your name."

The nurse was then brought before a disciplinary hearing and faced accusations of breaching confidentiality by speaking out to the media about her case in March 2025.

Back in January, Ms Melle opened up on GB News about the emotional turmoil while she faced a gruelling two-year-long battle with the Trust, which took a toll on the mother's mental welfare.

She told the People's Channel: "I was aware they did not apologise directly to me. When we went there with the union representative, we questioned that, about an apology from the hospital.

"And wow, they gave us some lame excuses," she added, vowing to take the case further "for all the trauma [she] had to face and endure".

She continued: "I was having panic attacks. My kids were very scared of me going out by myself. Sometimes I would just burst into tears out of nowhere because it was just so overwhelming."

A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Racial abuse of our staff is never acceptable, nor is discussing a patient’s private medical information publicly.

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