Three nurses had to be escorted from their workplace by security, and all seven have remained unable to return to work.
Despite the seriousness of the threat, police forces spent days passing responsibility between one another.
North Yorkshire Police acted only after media intervention.
Bethany Hutchison, President of the Darlington Nursing Union, said:
“We are relieved but deeply shocked that the police took so long to take action on this, and only did after the media contacted them.
“This is not merely offensive online abuse. It is a specific and terrifying threat against a group of identifiable women at a named location which included an image of a large knife. Three of our nurses had to be escorted from their workplace by security, and seven nurses have been unable to return to their jobs.
“We reported the threat immediately and supplied the police with the correspondence. Yet days later, we were left facing uncertainty while police forces passed responsibility between one another.
“Other police forces must take note, especially as White Ribbon Day approaches, and many of these forces have firm commitments to ending violence against women and girls. Protecting us needs to be more than a slogan.
“The apparent trigger for this abuse was that we thanked J.K. Rowling for supporting us after our successful campaign for lawful single-sex changing facilities. Whatever a person’s beliefs, threatening to murder women because they uphold biological reality is utterly unacceptable.
“We will not be frightened into silence. We fought for three years for dignity, privacy and safety at work, and we will not surrender those principles to intimidation or violence.
“To women watching this unfold, our message is simple: stand together, speak the truth and do not allow threats to drive you out of public life. We remain unbowed.”
The suspect has been released on bail with conditions prohibiting him from approaching the hospital or the nurses.
The investigation continues.
Mail report here.
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