Male nurse "was victim of stereotyping"

A hospital trust discriminated against a male nurse by requiring him to have a female chaperone when providing intimate care to a female patient, according to the EAT.

Former student nurse Andrew Moyhing claimed that there was an assumption that female nurses could provide care, including intimate care, to anyone — an assumption that did not apply to male nurses.

During a placement at the Royal London Hospital, Moyhing was told that he would have to be accompanied by a female while he was performing an electrocardiogram (ECG) on a female patient. The patient was not asked to give her consent to his acting without a chaperone.

As female nurses did not need a male chaperone when administering care to male patients, Moyhing felt that either he was regarded as untrustworthy or that the patient was thought likely to make false accusations.

The hospital trust accepted that the chaperone requirement was direct discrimination and could not be justified, but argued that Moyhing had suffered no detriment as a result of it. However, the EAT disagreed, awarding Moyhing £750 for injury to feelings — a sum he has refused to accept, not wishing to divert resources from the NHS.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), which supported Moyhing’s claim, says the case challenges “outdated stereotypes” about what sort of work is considered suitable for men, and raises “important issues anout the equal treatment of men and women in highly segregated professions”.

Moyhing v Barts and London NHS Trust UKEAT/0085/06