NHS doctor at centre of Sandie Peggie trans row now ignites gender storm in Australia

Born Theodore Upton, the biological male whose use of women’s changing facilities at a Scottish hospital sparked a major gender dispute, has taken up a position at Port Macquarie Base Hospital in New South Wales, The Mail on Sunday claim.

The Dundee University graduate, 31, is said to have begun working in the hospital’s emergency department in April, around four months after departing the health service in Britain.

Australia’s self-identification laws mean trans medical practitioners face no legal or professional requirement to inform patients about their gender history or status.

Shortly after Dr Upton started work at the 228-bed facility, a middle-aged woman was admitted and reportedly identified the doctor as biologically male, raising her concerns with staff.

Her family have said she was afraid of being pressured into accepting the medic as female.

A friend of the patient told the Mail: “Her husband stayed the whole time she was in to make sure they didn’t bully her into accepting treatment.”

Women’s rights campaigners in Australia had previously raised the alarm after the country’s health regulator, AHPRA, listed Dr Upton’s sex as female on its register and are now demanding a Government inquiry into the episode.

The case traces back to Christmas Eve 2023 when Mrs Peggie, an experienced NHS Fife nurse, was suspended and investigated on allegations of harassment and bullying after objecting to Dr Upton’s presence in the women’s changing room at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

During the subsequent employment tribunal hearings in Dundee, Dr Upton repeatedly insisted on not being male and dismissed biological sex as a “nebulous dog whistle”. The medic also declared if a female patient asked for a woman doctor, Dr Upton would attend to them regardless.

The tribunal judge ruled Mrs Peggie and her legal representatives were permitted to use male pronouns when referring to the doctor. Dr Upton also told the proceedings: “I am only asking for basic respect.”

Women’s Forum Australia chief executive Rachael Wong called on the New South Wales health minister to act swiftly.

“A woman in hospital should not have to defend her boundaries from the very people entrusted with her care,” she said.

Mrs Wong added: “The minister and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) must also explain what assessment was made of Upton’s breathtakingly entitled assertion, made under oath, that he would treat women who had specifically requested a female doctor and what safeguards were put in place to protect the dignity, wellbeing and consent of female patients.”

Australia’s anti-discrimination framework stands in stark contrast to the UK position, clarified by the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling, by permitting biological males who identify as women to access female-only spaces.

Mrs Peggie, 56, meanwhile finds herself in a far bleaker position. The veteran nurse has been off work on sick leave while pursuing an appeal against NHS Fife following her partial victory at the tribunal. Her sick pay is expected to expire in January, leaving her facing the loss of her income within three months.

The tribunal found the health board had harassed Mrs Peggie by permitting the trans doctor to use the women-only changing facilities at Victoria Hospital. NHS Fife spent approximately £220,000 defending both itself and Dr Upton during the proceedings.

The local health authority responsible for Port Macquarie Base Hospital declined to address the matter directly.

Mid Northern Coast Local Health District stated: “Mid Northern Coast Local Health District does not comment on matters relating to individual staff members.”

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