Discrimination case win for nurse

Male nurses were subject to different rules

A former male student nurse has won a claim for sexual discrimination against the NHS after arguing he was treated differently from female colleagues.

Andrew Moyhing successfully challenged a policy that only male trainees must be chaperoned when intimate procedures are carried out on female patients.

His initial claim against Barts and London NHS Trust was rejcted.

But the ruling has been overturned on appeal by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Moyhing, who was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), refused to accept an award of £750 compensation because he said he did not want to divert resources from the NHS.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal was right to find that it was not acceptable to have a chaperoning policy based on lazy stereotyping Jenny Watson Equal Opportunities Commissio

The case arose during Mr Moyhing's training last year when he was told that a female member of staff would have to chaperone him while using an electrocardiogram machine on a female patient.

He complained that female staff were allowed to provide intimate care to male patients with no chaperone present.

Call for equality

Following the ruling, Mr Moyhing said: "I hope that this decision will herald the beginning of an era when nursing draws on all the skills of both male and female students.

"Male nurses are still seen as a bit of an oddity simply because there are so many more women in the profession than men despite the fact that so many doctors are male.

"I believe that ultimately if male students are treated more equally, those such as myself who abandoned nursing as a career will stay on and the numbers will start to equalise."

Jenny Watson, chairwoman of the EOC, said sex discrimination was wrong whether it was directed at women or men.

"The Employment Appeal Tribunal was right to find that it was not acceptable to have a chaperoning policy based on lazy stereotyping about the risks to patients and assumptions that all men are sexual predators.

"This judgment should help to ensure that such prejudices become a thing of the past.

The EOC said its research showed that one in four schoolboys were interested in caring work but only one in ten nurses were male.

'Limited victory'

Charlie Sheldon, Deputy Director of Nursing at Barts and London NHS Trust, said the tribunal had supported Mr Moyhing on only one limited point, and had awarded only the minimum level of compensation.

"In doing so they claimed Mr Moyhing had displayed an exaggerated and unduly sensitive reaction to being chaperoned.

"Allegations by Mr Moyhing that he had been held back in his career development or that male nurses were considered second class citizens have been soundly rejected.

"The tribunal also acknowledged that Barts and London NHS Trust had adopted its policies for good and objective reasons."