An NHS Fife employment tribunal has rejected a bid from lawyers to search the phone of the trans doctor at the centre of a controversial hearing.
A judge ruled nurse Sandie Peggie’s legal team is not allowed to examine notes taken by Dr Beth Upton about interactions between the two.
Kirkcaldy A&E medic Ms Peggie is suing her employer after she was suspended following a changing room row with Dr Upton on Christmas Eve in 2023.
The Victoria Hospital nurse told the trans doctor she was uncomfortable at the two of them being alone together in a woman’s locker room.
Notes made on phone
New documents seen by The Courier show a number of rulings made by Sandy Kemp, the judge presiding over the Dundee hearing, before it resumes on July 16.
Court orders say Ms Peggie’s lawyers was keen on “obtaining particulars” about phone notes made by Dr Upton over hospital encounters.
At the tribunal in February, Dr Upton claimed Ms Peggie left the changing room on two previous occasions before their fateful Christmas Eve altercation.
Dr Upton said: “I recorded a note in my phone as she seemed a bit uncomfortable.”
The Dundee tribunal also heard claims Ms Peggie abandoned a patient because she did not want to work with Dr Upton.
Explaining his decision, Judge Kemp said the tribunal was not “competent” to grant an order for the examination of Dr Upton’s phone.
Documents also show a bid from Ms Peggie’s lawyers to add Dr Upton’s boss Dr Kate Searle as an additional respondent to the tribunal have been knocked back.
The tribunal was told that Dr Searle approved Dr Upton’s use of the female changing room.
Judge Kemp pointed out Dr Searle could potentially seek her own legal representation and would be entitled to cross-examine Ms Peggie.
He also said Ms Peggie’s lawyers will get the opportunity to interrogate Dr Searle as a witness anyway.
“The claimant will be able to explore in evidence with Dr Searle, who the first respondent is to be calling as a witness, the matters she seeks to raise,” he wrote.
Judge’s concerns over NHS Fife
The judge criticised NHS Fife’s handling of the case as well.
He wrote that a court order from January 3 – before the tribunal began – was “not fully and timeously” complied with by the health board.
He also expressed concerns over NHS Fife’s “somewhat casual and unhurried manner” in dealing with this.
Judge Kemp stated that NHS Scotland’s central legal office, representing the health board, “must immediately deal with all matters related to compliance with the order granted as ones of high importance and urgency”.
He said staff being absent from work or on annual leave could not serve as an excuse for failures.
Ms Peggie spoke to senior Scottish MSPs from various political parties during a trip to Holyrood last week.
The Courier exclusively revealed that First Minister John Swinney and his deputy Kate Forbes declined an invitation for a chat.
A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: “NHS Fife was issued with a Tribunal Order on January 3, 2025, requiring the disclosure of specified documentation by January 15.
“While documentation was provided on January 15, additional relevant material was later identified and disclosed.
“Further searches were undertaken with IT support to ensure full compliance and provide assurance to the tribunal.
“NHS Fife is confident that all relevant documentation has now been disclosed in accordance with the order.”
