A nurse is struck off.
The BBC News coverage is here.
What do you think?
You can read the full judgement here too.
Below are the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel's reasons for its decision on what sanction to apply in the case of Margaret Haywood.
"Reasons for decision on the Sanction stage
When considering what if any sanction to impose the panel has had regard to the indicative sanction guidance published by the NMC. It has taken into account the public interest and the registrant's own interests. By the public interest the panel is referring to the need to protect the public, to maintain standards of nursing in this country and to maintain public confidence in the profession and the NMC. The panel has sought to strike a proportionate balance between those interests and the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case.
First the panel considered whether to take no action but decided that the misconduct was too serious.
Next the panel has considered whether it should impose a caution. Such a sanction is available to the panel under the 2004 Rules provided it does not exceed 5 years. The panel took into account that no patients were directly harmed during the filming and that she has a previous good history. The panel read the two testimonials submitted by the registrant both of which were relevant and appropriate. It took account of the fact that there had been no repetition of her behaviour since although it would be hard to conceive whether an opportunity for this would have been possible since the airing of the programme and her identity was known.
However, the panel consider that her misconduct was not an isolated incident in the sense that filming took place on only one occasion but was concerned that breaches of confidentiality took place on many occasions with hours of filming being collected.
In addition the panel decided that she was not acting under duress but had accepted the role of undercover nurse knowing that this would entail breaking confidentiality. In fact, in an interview she had said that she was "worried that the patients or their relatives would feel I had been a double agent and that I had betrayed them or betrayed their confidence......" Nevertheless she went ahead with the filming.
The panel is not satisfied that the registrant has demonstrated any real insight into her misconduct. Although she admitted the facts of the charge, she did not admit that they amounted to misconduct. When initially asked by one of the members of the panel would she make that film again she explained she would not do so because of the troubles she had experienced by being brought before the NMC. It was only when pressed that she indicated that now that she knew about whistle blowing policies she would not make another film.
Taking all these matters into account, the panel does not consider that a caution order is an appropriate or adequate sanction in this case.
Next the panel has considered whether or not it is appropriate to impose a Conditions of Practice Order. The panel rejects that course. This was a deliberate decision by the registrant, a decision whereby patient confidentiality was compromised. Moreover, Conditions of Practice would be impractical as they have to have measurable and achievable aims and outcomes.
Next the panel has considered whether or not to impose a suspension order. A suspension order is appropriate if the misconduct is not fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse. The panel is of the view that the misconduct found is fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse. The registrant embarked upon filming many vulnerable, elderly patients in the last stages of their lives knowing that it was unlikely that they would be able to give any meaningful consent to that process, in circumstances where their dignity was most compromised. The registrant could have attempted to address shortcomings by other means. But this was never a course of action which she fully considered. She was intent of capturing the realities of life on the ward by means of filming.
In the view of the panel this was a major breach of the code of conduct. A patient should be able to trust a nurse with his/her physical condition and psychological wellbeing without that confidential information being disclosed to others. Only in the most exceptional circumstances should the cardinal principle of patient confidentiality be breached. Those circumstances did not pertain here. Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen. In any event, this method was unlikely to benefit the patients that were on the Ward at the time of filming and under her care.
The panel has therefore decided to strike the registrant off the register.
Interim Order
Reasons
Given the seriousness that led the panel to order the Registrant's name to be struck off the register, it would not be in the public interest for her to be able to practice as a nurse pending an appeal. In the panel's view it is necessary in the public interest for an interim suspension order to be made."
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Comments
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I hope some organisation within the nursing / caring profession will offer a suitable job, very soon, to this most courageous lady. Her bravery should be applauded for bringing this to the attention of the public after she had tried the "proper" channels to no avail. We will all be old eventually, and I sincerely hope things will have changed before I need the type of service whose shortcomings she exposed.
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This is offensive. The "public interest" WAS served by her showing what was happening. I trust that the BBC will give this matter FAR MORE air time than to the PM's adivsor's dirty emails, etc. DO the decent thing and break the vested interests.
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I think it's terrible that she has been struck off.
In her words:-
"I always made it clear to the BBC that patients would come first at all times."
All very sad - and may well put off people getting involved with covert filming in the future
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This just shows where NHS priorities lie - as always, the medical profession is more concerned about protecting its own back than caring for patients. This will make other people less likely to do what Margaret Haywood did, and that's bad for all of us who have to rely on the NHS.
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Very concerned about Margaret Haywood, the nurse who has been struck off for acting in the wider public interest. She got a lower 'sentence' than Jonathon Ross and should be given a payrise rather than having her liklihood taken away.
The word 'appalling' is much overused these days, but this is one example where where it applies.
Alistair
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Persecuting whistle-blowers is the worst way of making things better. Appaling self-protecting behaviour by the NHS.
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Today's Margaret Haywood decision is appalling.
What this nurse did, given the patient treatment facts discovered, was justified, even admitting the nurse breached patient confidentiality rules.
So, this nurse has been struck-off. Will legal action now be taken against the "Professionals" - Doctors, Nurses, Management who appear to have condoned developments "Royal Sussex"? And elswhere... Why was nothing done by "others" before?
Margaret Haywood and Panorama were, in my opinion, absolutely correct. Patient careand safety should ALWAYS come before all other considerations.
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An absolute disgrace.
This lady should be hailed for her bravery as a whistleblower, and promoted to replace those who very obviously ignored her concerns.
What is the Royal Sussex Hospital and the NMC scared of?
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I find this decision appalling. I feel the panel are more interested in keeping the truth in the NHS quiet than raising standards in patient care.
And I hope the BBC gives this dedicated nurse a job as a researcher on Panorama.
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I believe anyone who whistleblows has a good intention
I think the nhs has a very defensive and arrogant why of treating them
The patient would gladly give up there right to confidentiality
to improve their situation
The board also admitted that there was no real way to complain
I am outraged that this nurse has lost her job
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Whats the point of the government spokesperson? Claims not to know the details of the case when she could have read about it on the way to the BBc. Claims not to be able to comment on this individual case... why not? It isn't sub-judice....
Perhaps she could go home?
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Amazing how Howard managed to evade the question of whether he woud support Margaret in her future career?
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An absolutely disgraceful decision I hope her appeal will be heard without delay. If my mother were in hospital I would rather she be treated by a principled nurse like Margaret Haywood than by those who turn a blind eye to malpractice.
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Why didn't the Panorama team pixillate out the faces of the patients, as they would normally do for this sort of thing?
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I am appalled that this nurse has been struck off - she should be commended. I visited a friend in that hospital in 2005 and was horrified by the things that I saw - she is a heroine and I applaud her. Things HAVE to change and standards HAVE to improve.
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I spend several hours each week teaching health and social care staff about the protection of vulnerable adults and the processes of reporting concerns. This case makes a mockery of the messages I am asked to give by health managers, i.e. you must always report concerns to your line manager, and if you get no joy, find another route to report. There are statutory routes, but sometimes a whistle has to blown, especially if the abuse is endemic and institutional. I've got a group of health visitors and nurses to teach tomorrow, I suspect I'm going to have a cynical audience!
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Its simple.
If your a nurse, keep your trap shut, or if you speak out, expect to be struck off.
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This woman violated confidentiality of the patients and was disloyal to her colleagues for a mere entertainment programme.
Her dismissal is rightly deserved
So called whistle blowers are people who have no regard for loyalty, confidentiality or official procedures. They are driven purely by ego, think that only they know best and and trample over their fellow workers to try and make the world think they are the best thing since sliced bread.
Stop treating so called whistle blowers as heroes, they are nothing of the kind.
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As ever people rush to judgement. From Margaret's own mouth she admitted she had only 'raised concerns' with her line manager - presumably a senior nurse on her shift - and her ward manager. Both people clearly deeply complicit in the matters she was raising. As far as can be determined she made no effort to rasie it with anyone else except the BBC. The BBC of course, could have rasied it with the relevant authorities but then they would not have had a programme....which is the worse misconduct? We need all the facts to judge.
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Please repeat the weasel words responses to your questions from all of your interviewees, it is important that as many people as possible hear the birth of a cover up.
Patients' right to life and fair treatment is greater than a marginal right to confidentiality, especially where that confidentiality is a cloak for inaction.
Remember Shipman!
Sacking and barring this nurse does not deal with the problem exposed.
This must be a clear breach of Natural Justice. Lord Tom Denning would never have allowed it to stand.
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As Margaret Haywood has been struck-off for filming the poor treatment of patients and as a result giving a lesser service to them, then we should expect that the people who were directly responsible for the neglect of those patients will be dealt with even more severely.
I would also be interested to know how her punishment compares to what has been done to other nurses who have committed offences...
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...and another messenger is shot. This woman acted in the best interests of her patients: she showed the world how they were being treated. This decision is shameful.
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Duty of care must trump duty of confidentiality.
I trust the BBC or programme makers will be paying for her appeal and any consequent legal action, and if lost paying her until her retirement date.
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What is the role of the Royal College of Nursing? No one has questioned the underlying facts in the panorama programme, that the care that was being given on that ward was no of an acceptable standard.
Why has the RCN not interviewed the Ward Sister, Clinical Matron and Director of Nursing to ascertain from them why their management was bringing the Trust, the NHS and their Royal College into disrepute?
What mechanisms does the RCN have for its members to alert it to unacceptable practices that are being allowed in Trusts that have been brought to the attention of the Trust through the internal processes? If they had a way of bringing members concerns to the attention of NHS managers possibly Mid Staffordshire, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and the Brighton Scandals could have been averted.....
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I have been a nurse for eight years and unfortunately have not been suprised either by the care recieved by vulnerable elderly people or by the reaction of the NMC and RCN. The care of elderley patients is a scandel in this country, especially patients who are alone with no family support. The people in authority in the health service are more interested to be seen to do the correct thing than having any common sense or humanity. whilst she did not complain in the correct way this nurse should be supported as she cared, which is her professional and moral duty.
Julian (soon to be leaving the profession)
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Is this the way the BBC defends whistle-blowers? I don't think you'll attract many more if this is the best you can do for them.
What are you going to do for her?
You owe her a lot.
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The Nursing and Midwifery Council is evidently a collection of self serving bureaucrats with no sense of morality. Good job that they weren't around at the same time as Florence Nightingale and and Mary Seacole.
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The standard advice to whistleblowers remains that you will be hounded out of whichever occupation you are showing up. This seems especially so in the medical, nursing and teaching professions. The Bristol cardiac surgery whistle blower emigrated to Australia as he couldn't get a job in the UK. I admire Margaret for doing what she did as I do not doubt that she knew full well it could cost her her job and profession.
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Margaret Haywood might have her career ruined if ALL nurses and hospital flooded the press with teir own experiences - The hospital board would soon up and listen and act. They can't suspend them all.
She showed solidarity to her patients,; her colleagues have only to show such determination.
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As the son of an aged parent with Alzheimers, I am very grateful to Margaret, as I have suspected that ill treatment of the elderly, is not so rare as we would like to think.
Mr Davies
Epping Green
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Margaret Haywood and Panorama should be congratulated. Patient careand safety should ALWAYS come before all other considerations.
1: Margaret should be nominated for an award for services to nursing. Is such an award available - if so get nominating!
2: Margaret should take whatever actions are possible to appeal the decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel.
3: I hope some of those professionals in the NHS will voice their support for a reversal of the suspension.
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I have not seen the Panorama programme. Have there been any complaints from the patients concerned?
It does seem extremely harsh that this nurse has been struck off for an indefinite period, and this disciplinary action will dissuade others from coming forward with information that is in the public interest.
This judgement may require the BBC in future to rely less on people in post to make investigative documentaries and more on journalists who go undercover.
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why do you allow a junior minister to come to the programme and then duck the questions? She should not have agreed to be interviewed without getting her facts right. We certainly don't need paper shufflers wasting broadcast time saying "I cannot comment." wot a plonker!
PS at your suggestion, i typed in "pmblog" on the Radio 4 search facility and it did not know it!
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I work for the NHS and think this decision has much more to do with keeping the employees in line than about safeguarding patient confidentiality.
What she did was clearly courageous and in the interests of patients.
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It seems obvious to me that a caution is the appropriate sanction. We would be forgiven for thinking that the NMC panel is in the pocket of the Trust. They should be ashamed of their disproportionate and unreasonable ruling. I do hope Margaret Haywood's appeal is successful.
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Was Florence Nightingale a 'whistleblower'?
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twenty years ago when I was a nurse our responsibilitry towards patient confidentiality was explained again and again to us. As soon as I saw the panorama programme I was convinced that this nurse had breached her responsibility to her patients and would be struck off.
By deciding to film poor care rather than seeking to redress the plight of the patients she became not a nurse but a reporter. the bbc also has a responsibility here panorama must have been aware that what they were asking her to do would result in her being struck off; eddie should be pressing them as to whether they would be paying this unfortunate woman compensation.
darren redstar
salisbury school of nursing 1987-1990
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jonnie 12
Not really. If Ms Haywood is supported, many others in her profession will likely need to face investigation.
Frankly, I think the situation uncovered amounts, at least, to considerable abuse of patients.
So sad, that the Police haven't mounted an investigation. And indeed the GMC and RCN.
Professional standards in UK medicine? Not much of it today - especially in terms of morality it seems...
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You asked Margaret Hayward if elderly patients may still be mistreated in hospitals. Perhaps you and the NMC might like to investigate the case of my friend's elderly father, whose pneumonia is directly consequent on the failure of nursing staff to give him thickened fluids rather than water, and who has just had two epileptic fits because they forgot to give him his prescribed anticonvulsant drugs.
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What a shame that this nurse has been struck off.
I should imagine that the patients concerned dont think that their confidentiality has been abused.
This lady should be applauded for what she has done.
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And yet again the antiquated BBC moderation procedure collapses under the weight* of lots of new commenters wanting to put their views (and encouraged by Eddie) and not being able to.
33/39 posts unreadable till someone gets back from their tea-break. Disgraceful.
*or wait
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Nurse Margaret Haywood has been unfairly punished for demonstrating concern and compassion for her patients in their neglect and distress. She should be reinstated and publicly thanked for her professional bravery.
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Just appalled at the news of the striking off of this nurse. Whilst I understand the issues of patient confidentiality (I too work in the NHS), I also understand the huge difficulties of working in this organisation of not only getting managers to listen but more importantly and harder to do, actually getting them to take action. What about patient dignity and proper care?
Also, as has already been pointed out, the case of the leaked information, (one of the other other leading news stories featured today), apparently no-one is to be prosecuted for this time wasting exercise. Surely though this pales into insignificance at a woman losing her job and her reputation for showing appropriate care and for whistle blowing because of her concerns.
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I would like to give my support to Margaret Hayward in the aftermath this decision. While I have every respect for the confidentiality of patients I have recently felt distressed and impotent as I watched a close friend die at the same hospital in Brighton under very difficult conditions. She was only 59 and had family and friends to support her; she was in hospital for five days and known to be in a terminal condition. She spent three hours one night waiting for toilet facilities to be made available to her, and I witnessed a two and a half hour wait for soiled bedding to be changed, a doctor not being available for over 12 hours though her condition and pain were deteriorating rapidly; she was placed in a ward with the smallest possible space between beds, elderly patients around her suffering from dementia, shouting at her for the noise of her breathing. It was a real hell for the last few days of her life - incomparable with the care I have seen others receive in local hospice care. I really hope that the actions of concerned people like Margaret Hayward will make a difference, and that those whose confidentiality was compromised by the Panorama programme will feel able to forgive the indiscretion. I trust it goes without saying that many of the medical staff caring for her personally were wonderful.
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I am astonished to hear that Margaret Hayward has been struck off. In my opinion she acted humanely and with a deep sense respect of the patients.
Our family has vast experience of the NHS and private sector during the long and slow decline of our mothers health.
Some nursing and care staff were highly motivated and excellent within these systems but some most definately was not. Our mother was (at times) treated inhumanly ie unable to drink and eat by herself she was left for long periods of time without food and water. Likewise with all aspects of her daily basic care and hygiene.
Her care within these systems often depended on us turning up at all times of the day and night to check she was being given the minimum care to sustain any kind of health and dignity.
I watched the recent Panorama program about the private health care
companies and it all seemed sadly only too familiar . I commend Margaret Hayward for her bravery and her humanity. Hope the BBC offers her some support for her future.
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With reference to this case and the college's decision, what is that old adage, "Rules are devised for the guidance of wise men and the strict observance of fools". - - - very apt I think
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Interesting Charlie #38
I hadn't thought about it from that angle!
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I am most grateful to Margaret for making my local hospital a little safer for the elderly and think she has been extremely unfairly treated. Nobody else will be prepared to tackle problems like this, sadly all too typical of the treatment of sick, elderly patients. When my mother was in hospital I observed patients unable to reach their food and unable to get anyone to take them to the toilet.
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this lady will get little support from her professional colleagues. After all she has commited the unforgivable sin of exposing their failings. They will not forgive her for this - whatever the public interest.
The NHS has no `customer' except the Government. Therefore Government targets come first (they pay the bills) and then its the staff that matter. Patients are too far down the pecking order to really matter. And elderly patients? Well...
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Anyone who works in the NHS as a Nurse or a Midwife knows how useless it is to try and highlight deficiencies in the service. If management take no notice of complaints from patients and their relatives, what chance a lowly employee?
Hands up who knows what the 'Whistle Blowing Procedure' is at their place of work.
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Re Sid #41
As you know, the modding is outsourced by the BBC - in the early days it was nearly instant - but the blog kept on dying.
But it tended to work better
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Didn't see the programme but if I ever get to be an old person in hospital kept waiting for two hours to go for a pee, I would want somebody to breach my patient confidentiality and highlight patient (and possibly the health services) difficulties. Margaret Haywood and the hospital are on the same side one hopes and she seems like a committed professional - not a jobsworth.
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Margaret Haywood you are a national heroin, you should be awarded 1 million pounds from the consolidated fund and also have a medal award for bravery in the face of vicious brutal political thuggery The Royal Sussex Hospital is a cesspit of filth. I have spoken to many people who have had relatives die or nearly die through infections caught at the hospital. When I was treated there for a broken finger it was badly set by a foreign nurse, and when I went back to the fracture clinic (with a firm appointment) I was ignored for three hours and just left. I know many people here who go to Worthing or East Grinstead and assiduously avoid the Royal Sussex.
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Having just listened to the interview with the guy from the nursing body which has struck off the whistleblower nurse I was practically shouting at the radio at his weasel words and staggering hypocrisy: how they "supported nurses to air their concerns etc etc" whilst throwing this nurse to the wolves and scaring anyone else off from telling the truth.
How can people be allowed to get away with airing such doublespeak on the radio?
I think we and all the nurses have got the message alright. Speak out; speak the truth at your peril.
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@Verisimilitude100 - I hope you meant
"Margaret Haywood you are a national HEROINE, you should be awarded" ;)
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This is wrong, what Margaret was doing WAS in the public interest, striking her off was NOT.
There seems to be a trend here. CCTV for the state but dont dare photgraph them when they are beating demonstrators (mind that's OK as the policy seems for the police to wear balaclavas and cover their ID numbers) or maltreating patients. The state even has it in for trainspotters who may be terrorists...
What a state.
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This is the first time I have wanted to express an opinion in (or indeed logged on to) a blog to express concerns but I do want register my concerns re the rigidity of the NMC's ruling - indeed confidentiality was breached but Health Service Guidance amongst other guidance makes it clear that confidentiality can be breeched in either the patient's or the public interest particularly where safety is an issue. Whilst no one would want this type of filming repeated and being used as a standard approach particularly now the principles of whistle blowing are much better known back in 2005 these procedures were not known about by the average nurse. Withdrawing registration for this woman helps no-one, protects no-one and will discourage others from speaking out - shame on the NMC.
(I also don't understand why it takes so long to moderate comments - is the case with all blogs?)
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I feel really enraged that Margaret Haywood has been struck of. She should be rewarded for bringing to the country things which we should be aware of
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V 53, A 'national heroin'? Would you like to rephrase that?
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Margaret Heywood's case, while shocking is far from a surprise - perhaps we should learn from history? We could revisit the case of that nice Mr Pink for starters and remind ourselves of his case and the response of the then Government...
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I feel the decision in this case reeks of sheer vengeful nastiness. This nurse acted "out of the box" for a matter clearly in the public interest, and it is likely that her actions have contributed to the welfare of many elderly patients throughout the NHS. In the finance industry however, you can gamble away the livelihood of thousands, but your reward is a multi million pound pension.
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I consider the striking off of the nurse involved in the Panorama documentary to be unecessarily harsh.
As well as a duty to maintain confidentiality, the code of conduct states that nurses must also report harm, maintain quality of care and act as an advocate for patients, carers and the wider community.
I do not believe that mantaining confidentiality should override these other responsibilities
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I wonder what the families of the patients filmed will think of this judgement. Many of the patients concerned are, I imagine, either too ill to discuss this or will have died, but of those still alive, what do they think?
And did the NMC take the trouble to find out their views?
At the end of the day, this person knew that she was going out on a limb, but did so because she believed that it was necessary to bring these conditions out into the open.
My father, in the latter stages of his life, was frequently in hospital. If he had been exposed to the conditions in the Royal Sussex that I witnessed in the Panorama programme, I would have shaken the hand of anyone who blew the whistle on them. As it happens, my father was a patient at that very hospital, though a few years earlier than this. The hospital saved his life and I cannot express how grateful we were as a family to the surgeon who repaired a near fatal aneurism.
One question that occurs to me, however, is whether the BBC offered to show the tape to the Trust before airing it publicly. I think, in the circumstances, that should have been done, and the Trust been given the right of reply.
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Whilst recognising that the Nursing Code of Conduct was breached on the confidentiality issue, I know that I would be grateful to this nurse for highlighting the poor level of care. It would be more appropriate for the NMC to concentrate on investigating the reasons why poor care is prevelant in so many hospitals and improve standards of pay and working conditions for nursing staff. Nurses have to pay an annual registration fee to the NMC to continue working and what do they do? They strike you off the register. SHAME ON THE NMC
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This nurse paid a severe price for exposing the defective practice in her trust. It's all very well for the RCN spokesman to go on about robust whistleblowing policies, but as any NHS employee knows whistleblowing policies are for the benefit and protection of The Employer, not The Employee.
What are needed are independently drawn-up and policed policies.
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This nurse would not have to have gone to these lengths if the regulator was doing it's job properly.
CSCI has failed in it's duty to protect the vulnerable. The number of prosecutions brought by the regulator fell dramatically when it became the regulator for such services.
It surpressed any dissent within by a rigourous gagging policy, although few employees had any confidence in it's methods.
It was run by civil servants who just carried out the governments policy of "light touch" regulation.
The same policy that Failed to protect Baby P.
The same policy allowed the Banks to get into such a mess, they have scuppered the economy putting millions out of work.
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"Badly set by a foreign nurse" tsk, those foreign nurses eh?
Just to put a different viewpoint, if you read the report by the NMC council it becomes clear that the nurse in question didn't in fact know about the whistle blowing policies in place at the hospital which rather blows a hole in her claim to have followed the proper channels to report her concerns before resorting to filming covertly. Of course the conditions on the ward were shocking and unforgiveable and of course needed bringing to the attention of the authorities but surely this was not the best way to do it? Is nurse Haywood being disingenuous? Did she get paid to place her cameras?
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Two sides to every story - this makes this a difficult, emotive case. Howard Catton could not state whether the RCN would support Ms. Haywood as this depends on whether she is a member of this organisation (which, incidentally, is also a trade union). It is highly likely Ms. Haywood would have had union representation at her NMC hearing if she belonged to such an organisation.
It is unlikely that patients - frail, vulnerable and unwell - would have given their informed consent to being filmed in such an undignified manner. As a registered nurse, the care of individual patients must always come first. This story was about collective care (the lack of) and about organisational failure to ensure patient safety and dignity. It was also about an organisational failure to value nursing work, it's necessity and it's importance, whether it be delivered by registered or non-registered nursing staff. This is the wider issue and without doubt the main crux of the panorama story. It is the way in which this story was broadcast, that allowed a registered nurse to compromise her position of trust for patients, that should be seriously questioned. The outcome of the programme should not be dismissed in the furore of Ms. Haywood's removal from the register.
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Comment #18, Stickings90.
It's the loyalty to colleagues and the mask of confidentiality which has allowed the NHS to systematically abuse patients over many years. Rudeness, institutional attitudes, medical paternalism and nursing arrogance to name but a few. Long live the whistleblower.
I make this comment as a nurse.
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The Nursing and Midwifery Council panel seem to have conveniently taken the narrow view of this case, concentrating on the 'Professional Misconduct' of one of their members and not the wider issues that are being raised.
It just makes me even more concerned that, should I be in the unfortunate possition of having to go to hospital and not being able to make my own complaints heard, then I will possibly be in the same unfortunate possition as all of the patients shown in the Panorama programme.
It just says to me that I should beware if I have to go to hospital, as members of the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel may be in charge of my care!
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I guess that what this nurse's professional body is getting at is that she "allowed" the abuse to go on in the interests of the filming. However I think it is unlikely that going through the "correct" channels would have got her anywhere (except out of her job) and she has served her patients better by her actions. I worked for 44 years as a qualified nurse, retired 6 years ago, and believe me, I dread having to go into hospital. Yes, there are good areas, and superb staff- but the standard is uneven and I believe far more of this type of abuse goes on than is imagined. Ask any relative. The elderly are more at risk as they often don't have anyone to fight for them, and I have noticed a definite ageism in their treatment lately (relatives and elderly frinds in hospitals and care homes).
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The judgement includes the sentence
"It was only when pressed that she indicated that now that she knew about whistle blowing policies she would not make another film."
The rest of the text suggests to me that she is being suspended less for whistle-blowing; more for not bowing to the people on the board.
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It would appear that the powers that be in the NHS attach far greater importance importance to patient confidentiality than the provision of acceptable clinical care.
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I wonder if the patients families are pleased that Margaret was brave enough to show what their relatives were being put through? I think it is appalling that she has been struck off just because of so called patient confidentiality. All too often the NHS hides behind "procedure". I worked in the NHS as a registered nurse and can confirm that "going through the correct channels" rarely if ever worked. What is she and others like her supposed to do when she sees such appalling things going on? Is she supposed to bury her head in the sand,or cross over to the other side or what. I loudly applaud what she did and I don't think her motives were to pay more attention to the filming than to her patients. The patients didn't have a voice and she gave them one. I am convinced that if another film was made secretly now the situation would be the same in certain areas. Good nurses want this sort of thing to come out in to the public domain because sometimes it can seem as if you are bashing your head on a brick wall.
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Jonnie - yes, I know blog moderation is outsourced ... and it's not up to the job.
45% of comments here are held in a queue - people who have never commented before, but who have been encouraged to join in by Eddie. And when they get here, they go to the back of the queue and wait ...
It's now more than an hour after the story was broadcast ...
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Unfortunately this is nothing new in the NHS rather than support the nurse for highlighting poor standards of care for the elderly she is struck off.
More than 20yrs ago when I was a student nurse at a famous London teaching hospital my fellow students and I witnessed very poor treatment of elderly patients. This included force feeding patients by holding their nose to make them eat. amongst other things. When we took this to our tutor to complain we were all hauled up before the Consultant Geriatrician and threatened with dismissal. Our tutor was very supportive and we approached our Union for advice. The up shot was that we were given a very stern warning by the then Director of Nursing Education to retract what we had said, presumambly following a discussion with the Consultant Geriatrician, we were left in no doubt that we could be dismissed.
As far as we were aware nothing was done about these allegations and our Tutor also left.
Sadly these patients had to put up with this regime as no else intervened. I'm glad to say this unit has now closed down and is a luxury housing development!.
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I salute this lady's courage, and as much as I admire her for it, so I have nothing but contempt for the NMC and the spineless attitude of the RCN. Their press officer on PM today was typical of the toothless tiger that the RCN is in refusing to support this lady. He flatly refused to answer the question when it was put to him three times as to whether the RCN would support her. All he offered was rhetoric and waffle because he had no answer to give. What he should have said is the truth, that no, the RCN will not support its members who dare to expose the incompetence and closed ranks of the NHS hierarchy.
I know from someone close to me what these incompetents in the NHS upper echelons are capable of doing to those who dare to tread on their toes, and how the RCN colludes with them in the persecution and victimisation of whistleblowers. The whole policy of the NHS on the protection of whistleblowing and bullying by management is just hot air and smoke and mirrors. As this courageous lady's case has shown, it has no validity whatsoever when the upper echelons are threatened.
As happened in the case that I know of, ranks were closed at the top and a campaign of harassment, victimisation and bullying was carried out with no protection whatsoever from a spineless RCN.
The whole country should now rally behind this nurse, with the BBC to the forefront, to get her reinstated, and the ones who dared to bring her case to the NMC should be sacked instead.
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Sid 75
Couldn't agree more.
When Roger Sawyer, the Progs editor had both of his post-prog comments removed (why?!)...
Seems to me the Beeb is just flushing away more of the Licence-Payers funds.
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the NUrses and Midwives Council is there to protect the public, they have clearly done the public a great service in striking off this nurse who has followed in the traditions of other errent nurses such as Mr Pink (Grahan I think was his first name) who blew a similar whistle in the 1980s.
I hope when I am in elderlycare myself, should I live to see the day, that someone will be kind enough to film any degrading situation/s that I might encounter - that person has my consent as of now - and oh yes do please remember to follow the whislte-blowing proceedure first, I wouldn't want you to be accused of compromising my privacy, But who would have the courage?
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I am so sorry for this lady who having tried to tell managers of her concerns - been ignored - then tried doing something about it - and suffered the ultimate penalty.
My mother is 97 and in a BUPA Nursing Home - we (her family) are all scared about raising concerns about her Care.... we would be so pleased if a member of staff would be able to highlight them.
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Having worked in the NHS I have experience of whistle blowing and find this story really sad .Will the trust pursue the maltreatment of the patients with so much vigor? I think not? As usual all they are interested in is covering their own backs. Without people like this nurse and others this neglect would go be pushed under the carpet.
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Ms Haywood is not saying anything that is untrue. In this money making/cost saving NHS we need people to stand up for the weak and alone. If people don't stand up and be counted what hope is there for those poor people being treated in this awful manner. It is not an isolated case. I spent a month on a female medical ward 6 years ago and I hope I never will again.
Thank you for your bravery, I hope you get reinstated, we need you. Shame on you GMC/RCN
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Extract IN FULL from Midwifery Council judgment
"In addition the panel decided that she was not acting under duress but had accepted the role of undercover nurse knowing that this would entail breaking confidentiality. In fact, in an interview she had said that she was "worried that the patients or their relatives would feel I had been a double agent and that I had betrayed them or betrayed their confidence......" Nevertheless she went ahead with the filming.
The panel is not satisfied that the registrant has demonstrated any real insight into her misconduct.
BUT SHE HAD THOUGHT ABOUT THE EFFECT ON PATIENTS OR RELATIVES
Although she admitted the facts of the charge, she did not admit that they amounted to misconduct. When initially asked by one of the members of the panel would she make that film again she explained she would not do so because of the troubles she had experienced by being brought before the NMC. It was only when pressed that she indicated that now that she knew about whistle blowing policies she would not make another film.
WHAT IS THE USE OF WHISTLE BLOWING POLICIES IF THEY HAVE BEEN SHOWN NOT TO WORK
Taking all these matters into account, the panel does not consider that a caution order is an appropriate or adequate sanction in this case.
Next the panel has considered whether or not it is appropriate to impose a Conditions of Practice Order. The panel rejects that course. This was a deliberate decision by the registrant,
BUT YOU JUST SAID SHE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE WHISTLE BLOWING POLICIES
a decision whereby patient confidentiality was compromised."
WHAT A CONTRADICTORY SELF SERVING JUDGMENT!
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This seems totally reflective of the attitude of organizations towards whistle blowers: Staff and management working within settings designed to look after the interests of vulnerable adults fall into a herd mentality and forget the reasons they got into the job in the first place. Not helped by underfunding and inadequate training of staff! Whistle blowing is seen as a betrayal of co-workers, is often(from my own experience) buried and company employed bearuacrats usually can't see what all the fuss is about, as if service users are somehow second class citizens. The CSCI have been flagged up as worse than useless and many social workers have more than a thousand cases each. Will the CQC do a better job? A radical overhaul of inspection methods and standards is needed.
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I have been nursing for over 20 years. I have witnessed poor standards of patient care and have been involved in 'blowing the whistle' on several ocassions. Everytime it has been a battle. Everytime I have had to take my concerns to a more senior level to get them addressed. On every ocassion there has been a significant emotional cost to myself in terms of the utter frustration I have felt in not being taken seriously.
This is an appauling outcome for this nurse. As a nurse I had always felt proud of our Code of Conduct because I felt it supported me to protect the rights and needs of patients. I am enormously disappointed (but not surprised), by the NMC's literal interpretation of this Nurses'
actions. She was clearly acting in the Public Interest. Their action brings our profession in to disrepute and clearly demonstrates how out of touch and unrepresentative they are with the dreadful conditions many patients still have to face and of public opinion.
It infuriates me that I have to pay an annual subscription to this organisation of £76 a year, just to practice, for what?! I hope more Nurses speak out in support of this courageous women.
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Go for the jugular Eddie..!
Just like you did with Sharon "It's-not- me-Guv!" Shoesmith.
Don't let them off the hook for one second.
They are all busy covering their backs in this country because the game is up from No.10 down.
She (Nurse Margaret Hewwood) should be canonised and re-named St. Margaret Heywood..!
There are cameras running 24/7 on every street corner now, why not in every care home throughout the land for these vulnerable, elderly people.
Good on you, St Margaret.
And don't sound so dejected!
You did right, girl!!!
Virtue really is its own reward.
And at least you will be able to sleep nights and look at yourself in a mirror, unlike many I could list in this country, in top positions today.
Not, of course that that bothers the scum.
Keith A. Simpson
SALFORD.
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I have read the judgement of the NMC and consider it arrogant and pompous. The NMC should concentrate on the appalling standards of care that the patients received at the West Sussex Hospital and reinstate Ms Howard's Nursing Registration immediately. She has done all old people a service, which is more than the NMC appears to be doing.
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Care of the Elderly continues to be an area which is sadly inadequate in the NHS. My elderly mother has recently been subjected to a catalogue of failures and ommissions in an East Anglian hospital. Even in this hospital, which is highly rated by the Health Care Commission, there are systemic failures in management, training and quality which have lead us to compile a substantial dossier and formally complain. We are now taking the matter further in the hope that meaningful changes can be made for the benefit of future patients.
The treatment of this nurse - denying her the right ever to work again in her chosen profession - sends a disturbing message to those who care enough about the poor state of the NHS to put their job on the line in exposing it. I believe this decision should be reversed and would encourage those in power to lobby for a reversal.
The medical profession and hospitals and care of the elderly in particular should be much more open to public scrutiny. I do hope that Panorama will voraciously follow up this subject.
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The striking off of this brave lady,meaning she can never again practise her profession in the NHS or be insured to practise through her erstwhile professional body, is an outrage. I am almost 72 years of age and, thankfully, in good health and in full posession of all my faculties, but were I to find myself in the situation of some of Margaret Haywood's patients, desperate for a bedpan or wet with urine or dirty from having soiled myself, or in pain because my drugs were overdue, I wouldn't care a jot about the so-called "breaching of patient confidentiality." I would be very happy indeed for my plight to be broadcast to the entire Nation on a programme such as Panorama if it meant that I and others got the attention we needed. I did see the programme at the time, and was horrified but not actually particularly surprised at what I saw. I know from personal experience some years ago when both my mother then my father died in hospital that care of the elderly in many hospitals leaves much to be desired, and things have got a lot worse of recent years. Two of my children are highly qualified NHS employees. I cannot say more lest they should be identified through me in any way, but I know only too well how low are standards of care in many instances and how dangerous - and pointless -it is to speak out to the Line Managers who, for the sake of their own promotional interests, invariably support Management. Their only interest is, of course, money.
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#18
STICKINGS 90.
CLAPTRAP!
ARE YOU AN NHS WORKER..?
IN A HOSPITAL MAYBE?
CARE-HOME PERHAPS...?
LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU ARE SO THAT I CAN MAKE A NOTE TO AVOID IT, AND THEREFORE YOU.
I HOPE THE LIKES OF YOU AREN'T LOOKING AFTER ANYTHING THAT DRAWS BREATH.
KEITH A.SIMPSON.
SALFORD.
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Quoting the ruling-
"the conditions on the ward were dreadful"
That statement alone justifies the action taken.
Proper procedures to complain are irrelevant if those same proper procedures allow the "dreadful" conditions to arise and continue uncorrected.
Too many pontificating false-management types and not enough money spent supporting those with a vocation.
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I feel quite devastated. I spent five long years trying to get justice for my father and then my mother. Their hospital care was poor to non-existent. I went through all the correct channels, carried on after they had died, and got absolutely nowhere because people will lie and falsify records. The authorities only want to protect their reputation and in my case, found that they treated complaints with near contempt. My mum and dad suffered so so much, and it is only when programmes such as this are televised that the public can get to see what is really going on but only one hospital is called to account. It will though soon get forgotten and abuse and neglect will continue. To sack the woman is unbelievable. It will merely ensure that the future abuse and neglect receives no attention at all as staff, already cowed, will be too terrified to become a whistleblower.
The BBC needs to make a lot more fuss over this. We need a system of un-announced inspections at all times of the day and on any day of the week, and this should include trained members of the public who understand the problems. We also need an independant body to whom staff may safely direct their concerns and be certain that they will remain anonymous. CCTV in wards should also be considered. If you want to stop these horrors, drastic action is required.
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It's amazing that in the same PM programme that you report that Margaret Haywood has been struck off the nursing register for reporting neglect and abuse within the NHS, of which we are all stakeholders, you also report that there is to be no prosecution of a Home Office civil servant for leaking information that is deemed to be, "Clearly in the public interest. "
I can think of no more pressing issue that is in the public interest than the care of our loved ones and the elderley, who otherwise have no voice.
The Nursing and Midwifery Coucil ruled that Ms Haywood's conduct was inexcusable and a breach of trust.
What Ms Hawood exposed was clearly a breach of the public's trust in the NHS.
Is that now a crime?
If Ms Haywood had risked exposing this kind of activity in a totalitarian regime, or a despotic third world country, instead of on our own doorstep, she would have been hailed a hero , not condemmed for, " prioritising the filming, over the care of her patients"
She would likely have been given an award by the same council , for her courage, humanitarianism and selfless devotion in bringing this issue to wider recognition.
Where is the justice in being condemmed to suffer, for the rest of her working life , for proviing a visual record of what she experienced?
I cannot help feeling that if she had been represented by a highly respected and articulate lawyer, the outcome may have been different.
It could reasonably be argued by prioritising the filming, if that is what indeed she did ,that she was clearly demonstrating her comitment to patients , by placing herself at risk, to defend rtheir human rights.
Surely now the BBC, must provide support to Ms Haywood and seek an independent enquiry into her treatment at the hands of the Council .
RichardHalifax.
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The courageous lady should be instatntly re-instated. The stupid people on the panel which struck her off should themselves be disciplined/dismissed/struck off for the disservice they have done to patients and the nursing profession by failing to recognise the extreme importance of the BBC's and this nurse's action, sending the wrong message to other concerned NHS staff and thereny damaging the ling term interests of the NHS and its patients.
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TOO MANY COMMENTS AWAITING TOO MUCH MODERATION FOR TOO LONG.
NO GOOD..!
NOT INSTANT ENOUGH, YOUR BLOG.!
FORGET IT.
KEITH
SIMPSON.
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A final comment on this.
As a registered nurse, I received my quarterly communique from Big Brother, sorry, the NMC, today. It includes the new NMC guidance on care of older people and this guidnace states that each professional is responsible for, amongst other things:
- being assertive and prepared to challenge poor practice and behaviour;
- providing appropriate and safe environments in which to practice dignified care;
oooh the irony
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Maybe if a nurse or two had blown a whistle or two in Kent and Sussex a couple of years ago, 90 people might not have died?
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Whilst I understand the need to protect patient confidentiality here, I wonder what the relatives of those patients thought when faced with the fact that their loved ones were being neglected by the people placed with the responsibility for their care. Patients were left in unacceptable conditions with little or no support available. If Mrs Haywood had passed her concerns to senior staff they too had a responsibility to make senior staff aware of the difficulties facing front line staff and patients.
Having friends who work in the health service I am aware of the difficulties they face when exposing cases of appalling maltreatment. Such is the culture of confidentiality they dare not report issues for fear of losing their jobs. Management often create a climate of fear while patient care comes second to meeting government targets, and this has been the case since the Griffiths report of the 1980 which encouraged hospitals to become individual trusts. As hospitals compete with each other for a share of the market place patient care is reduced to the bare essentials as the target culture becomes finance driven.
Mrs Haywood highligted an issue that will most probably be found in many other hospitals around the country. It's a great tragedy that the price of exposing this lack of care was the loss of her career and not those who ultimately were responsible for this debacle. People ought to hang their heads in shame.
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Thunderbird 97
You make an extremely valid point. And, not just confined to the geographic areas you mention...
And, this of course is one of the problems now faced by Ms haywood.
She (and Panorama) have demonstrated the truth in one location.
BUT, more medical professionals now need to come forward to support and substantiate those facts.
One twig can be broken but, not a whole sheaf.
People should remember and understand that truism...
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We quite clearly have double standards at work here. Compare the case of Margaret Haywood with another current 'whistle-blower' case:
"Mr Green - MP for Ashford - and Home Office worker Christopher Galley, who passed on the information, have always denied any wrongdoing over the leaks, forwarded to the press, which related to immigration and crime."
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Me @ 99
...I should have added, that if Ms Haywood "falls" and "fails" now, she does so, in major part, through lack of professional support - not only in East Sussex but throughout the UK.
Remember: "Fine words don't butter parsnips".
Well, now, we shall see...
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The real problem here seems to me to be that the Margarets line manager and the ward manager did not in anyway perform as they should. Their error is far more serious. Perhaps losing their jobs being struck off and 6 months in prison would be appropriate.
But seriously the problem was not Margarets but the NHS. So fix it.
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Can we start a book on betting how long it will take before this brave woman is reinstated? I hope the BBC give her the best publicity and support. I admire her courage. I would not have the guts. I would be worrying about my family, my mortgage, my pension, my own self. What's more I have three elderly relatives living in the Brighton area. For all I know this woman may well have saved them from some awful future misery or distress. Of couse she must be allowed to practice again even if the whistle blowing process improves (don't hold your breath) she has done us all a service and deserves her own status as a nurse to be recognised. It's a mad mad mad mad world ain't it.
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I am a nurse and have mixed feelings about this story.
The NHS is a law unto its self at times and it can be difficult to make your concerns heard. However, if you do raise concerns you should always put it in writing whether it be to your line manager or the chief executive.
Health, as from 1st April will be regulated by the Care Quality Commission, so hopefully they will be the people to complain to if all else fails.
She did breach patient confidentiality and one feels she allowed it to go on for the sake of the program. Did she get paid by Panorama to do this?
There is a great deal of good nursing and care in the NHS as well as the private sector but I suppose that's not interesting enough to be shown on television.
Margaret Haywood knew before she did this she might lose her job and be struck off so why was she so surprised at today's verdict?
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This brave nurse should be applaudid for standing up for justice and the true spirit if nursing which is caring for the patients not protecting the status qo. Florence Nightingale is a heroine of English History because she brought to the English public and the government of the day the disgraceful way the army ran their hospitals. If she had lived in this century she would have been using a secret camera too. How small minded people quickly we destroy the spirit of what is the right thing to do by their petty rules. The nursing proffession should be ashamed of itself and the NMC particularly so.
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I HOPE THE COMMITEE THAT HAVE ENDED THIS BRAVE WOMANS CAREER
ENJOY THE SAME TREATMENT AS THE
POOR UNFORTUNATE PATIENTS
FEATURED IN THE PANORAMA DOCUMENTARY.
IF I EVER HAVE TO SIT IN MY OWN
%%% I WOULDNT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT
CONFIDENTIALITY IF IT TOOK PANORAMA/BBC TO SORT IT.
SO I COULD END MY DAYS IN DIGNITY!!
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IN SUMMARY THIS IS YET ANOTHER
FLAWED JUDGEMENT FROM YET ANOTHER ESTABLISHMENT QUANGO.
DISGUSTING!
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Please can I send heartfelt support to your courageous nurse Margaret Haywood. She should be proud of her own strength and courage - and feel very let down by lack of support - above all from Panorama and the BBC.
The lack of compassion shown by the Royal Sussex Hospital staff for the patients in their care must come from those in authority. They are the ones who should be reprimanded. They obviously set no example of tender loving care - which is all that patients need.
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104
There is no excuse for patient abuse anywhere within the UK.
The shame here is that Ms haywood is apparently the only medical professional who spoke-out about East-Sussex. yet apparently, the problems were "widely" known.
As I type this I'm listening to R4 about the NHS in "Mid-Staffs".
Frankly, medical professional incompetence and subservience within the NHS seems to be endemic.
Let's now see how many healthcare professionals now come forward, in the rightly critised hospitals, to defend their and their colleagues practices...
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Three cheers for Margaret Haywood!!!
Far from demonstrating misconduct, her action showed that she really cared for the patients for whom she was responsible in direct contrast to those in charge. Since it is said that she reported her concerns to her line managers, why did they not tell about the so-called whistle-blowing policy? Or is it that there is no such procedure - i.e. you just don't do it?
It is widely recognised that standards of care for older patients, especially those in a terminal phase still vary considerably across the country. What surprises me is that the NMC seem to be spinelessly hiding behind the letter of the regulations rather than following their spirit at a time when so much effort is otherwise being directed to raising these healthcare standards.
It must also must be borne in mind that filming apparently occurred two or more years ago at a time (2005 - 7) when the Healthcare Commission rating for the hospital was only Fair. A pity it took so long to reach its latest rating (2007 - 8) of Excellent.
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Horrified to learn what has happened to Margaret Heywood. I'm uninterested in the figleaf justifications offered by the Registration Council that Ms Heywood usurped her status and role and failed to protect patient confidentiality. Can Ms. Heywood be appointed to run the Health Service?
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We are told that the nurse in question is neglecting her duty. I disagree, because (although she may have spent time not pursuing her actual profession)what she did has helped to uncover the appalling doings of staff in hospitals and nursing homes nationwide. These truths should be made known to the public in order that others that are not doing their duty should be made known to governing bodies who oversee them. These are the people who should be struck off ...
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112 comments since 5 o'clock......wow
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What a lot of new posters.
Welcome to the blog!
I am in agreement with most of the posts above, for what that's worth.
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Margaret, I am a senior nurse with almost 40 years experience. You are indeed a beacon of hope for the profession and ultimately those entrusted to our care.
Nurses have cowered to NHS profligate systems for too long now. Isn't it time for the profession to regain one of nurses essential roles, that of advocate for people when they are at their most vulnerable.
Thank you for your bravery and integrity
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Theoldgoat #55
Thank you for pointing out the error. My post was referred to the moderators, perhaps they knocked the “E” off the end.
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@stickings90
Hopefully you've spotted that you're a lone voice now?
I hope, I really do, that you never come across something at your place of work that is wrong, that is against the good of the corporation - illegal, fraudulent - you know what I mean.
What would you do then?
Think about it, and please give us a reply.
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The Royal Sussex and the Brighton General were a disgrace in the 90s for the way they treated old people.
The Brighton General started as a Workhouse and had not changed much
in 1998 when my Mother was put there
to recover????
The Trust does too much sub-contracting but fails to ensure that the sub-contractors are maintaining adequate standards.
They also spend vast sums on agency nurses and even have their Hospital food shipped in from Wales.
The old people are the ones that built the NHS with their taxes and national insurance when wages were poor.
They deserve the best treatment
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What this nurse did was a form of direct social action against the establishment. She did it out of concern for the people she cared for, the public interest and because she understands, that first, she is a human being, made from the same stuff as the patients she had a duty toward. She had lost faith in a hypocritical system.
I wish there was some way we could lift tonights blog and present it to the silent cowards who got her struck off so they could read it and weep!
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I did not see the Panorama programme so cannot comment directly, however if I or a relative were suffering poor nursing, dirt and mistreatment I would far rather have that exposed than stand on my 'dignity'. What dignity or privacy had been left to these patients ?
It is clear from the many comments above made by people with close knowledge of the NHS that procedures for reporting abuses are not well known, easily available or followed through. Margaret Haywood clearly felt she was drawing attention to the abuses in the only way left to her. She should not have been struck off.
Yet again it seems organisational imperatives to follow process triumphs over common sense or natural justice.
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I am horrified that Margaret Heywood has been struck off...and like other nurses really hacked off that I have to pay the NMC £76 per year just to be able to practice. I am a nurse at the Sussex County and I can confirm that raising concerns about the way patients are treated brings very few satisfactiry results. Sadly the culture is one of 'meeting targets' and 'ticking boxes'. I will be writing to make my feelings clear to the NMC about how this lady has been treated.
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I think it is disgusting that Margaret Haywood has been struck off for whistle blowing this cruel behaviour, she should be reinstated and the terrorists that inflicted this cruelty on to their patients should have to answer for their actions and be prosecuted along with their managers who obviously condone this sort of sadistic cruelty.
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It's always the vulnerable who suffer - in this case a dedicated nurse and the patients she served. The Nursing and Midwifery Council are self-serving hypocrits intent on preserving the status quo within the 'medical establishment' and yet have the nerve to cite the interests of patients as the reason for their decision.
As for Panorama, will the BBC now support this courageous lady in her very substantial financial loss, caused directly by her bringing the shameful truth to the public? I doubt it!
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So many listeners have blogged to support Nurse Haywood, will the Nursery and Midwifery Council take note of how disgusted people are at their self serving decision to strike her off for misconduct?
I have complained about their decision. You can easily find out how to complain on their website, I urge everyone who believes Nurse Haywood has been pilloried for doing what is right to do the same.
They Nursing & Midwifer Council have put the vested interests of hospitals and management before that of patients who have been mistreated, and whom she stood up for. Was anyone responsible disciplined for abuse and neglect of patients exposed on Panorama? (or in North Staffordshire) I doubt it.
Pardon me for repitition but I put a post to this effect under the wrong news item. This website aint that user friendly
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Although it is regrettable that Margaret has been struck off, my understanding of the case (from the BBC TV news) was that it wasn't the filming or whistle-blowing per se that was wrong, but the fact she asked patients' and relatives' permission retrospectively, rather than up-front.
The issue at stake is the period of time that elapsed between her commencing the undercover recording and her requesting permission to use to recordings.
This is a very tricky issue - not least because it would be impractical (if not impossible) to obtain written permission from the patients beforehand whilst simultaneously avoiding detection by management.
On the other hand, as the recording was made before consent was given and the patients are presumably identifiable, then it would classify as a breach of patient confidentiality.
I don't know how hospital inspections are currently performed, but perhaps a framework similar to that for school OFSTED inspections could be implemented. The hospital would have to maintain a self-assessment of its performance across a wide variety of areas. Then when the inspection was due (for schools it starts off at 3 years, but the frequency may be increased or decreased based on the inspection results), the inspectors talk confidentially to a variety of staff, patients and visitors about their experience. In addition, have inspectors both shadowing staff and observing wards.
Another possibility - a formal comments system, whereby staff, mobile patients and visitors can (anonymously if desired) leave comments, both positive and negative, about the hospital / ward. Summaries would be included in annual reports, and there would be procedures in place to launch an immediate investigation if comments from different sources over a narrow period of time raised identical (or very similar) concerns.
However, I stress comments system, so that if people think a ward exceeds their expectations, or if the staff go beyond the call of duty in helping patients / visitors, it can also be recognised. This would allow the hospital management to identify examples of good practice (to highlight and promote) as well as bad practice (to reduce and hopefully eliminate).
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SEEMS ITS INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE ALL
ROUND:
GORDY
THE POLICE
THE ENDLESS QUANGOS
THE BANKS
ETC ETC!!!!
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WHO REPORTED THE NURSE TO THE NMC??
The decision of the NMC panel is clearly one of 'professional misconduct'. Does anyone know how to report the panel members to the NMC for the decision they have made - as they too need to be subject to professional discipline for what they have done to the profession of nursing with this judgement?.
Are readers aware that nurses are required to pay for the NMC - the body that has made this dreadful decision?.
Just what did the NMC think would be gained by maintaining the 'confidentiality' of the patients in question?
To whom is the NMC responsible? Can we expect them to review the decision of the panel?.
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Readers should look at the website of the CHRE - Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence - the body responsible for overlooking what the NMC does - and consider mailing them with their views on the NMC decision.
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Well it's very clear what the majority think on this story.
I liked ybborp's summing up :-
"Rules are devised for the guidance of wise men and the strict observance of fools"
As a general issue:-
Why I wonder does iPM need to embark on a national poll when it's almost certain that the average view can be ascertained from a simple blog post!
Hey ho! It will be interesting. - but refreshing that on todays programme it wasn't ober trailed ;-)
A shame that the moderation was so slow here earlier, as highlighted by Charlie and Sid, as that could have helped the feedback as the thread evolved?
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I have carefully read the the judgement of the NMC. By such harsh treatment of this nurse, I feel that they bring the nursing profession into disrepute.Public concern is already very high oer treatment of vulnerable patients. The NMC actions will only add to this sense of outrage. Have any of the patients involved complained about breaches of confidentiality?If so, did they have other concerns over their treatment in this Hospital. Congratulations,to Panorama.
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Having read the whole of this blog, to which I contributed yesterday, I am of the opinion that the blog itself would make a fine basis for another Panorama programme.
As part of such a programme the BBC could send a copy of the blog to the NMC with a request for "comments please".
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The NMC acknowledges of Margaret Heywood that "now that she knew about whistle blowing policies she would not make another film." Ergo she did not know about the policies beforehand and so she is blamed for ignorance of the procedures rather than her managers being blamed for failing to train staff in the policies. Also she is unlikely to repeat her offence.
They also acknowledged that "the conditions on the ward were dreadful". Yet while Margaret Heywood is struck off those who caused and perpetuated the conditions have as far as we know continued to practice.
I realise I am repeating much of what has already been said, but the injustice of it is dreadful and unless the judgement is contested injustices will continue as bureaucracy is valued above humanity and common sense.
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I've just read the complete NMC statement and can't believe that they have constructed such a convoluted yet flawed and contradictory piece of piffle.
I think that any decent appeals tribunal or judicial review would overturn this decision pretty darn sharpish.
I hope that the BBC/Panorama will find some way of supporting Margaret Heywood through this process.
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As a nurse of more than 40 years experience, now retired, the situation of Margaret Haywood reminds me so much of the difficulties I and likeminded collegues faced when trying to raise management awareness of issues such as poor standards, short staffing particularly and poor practices generally.
I understand very well about consent and confidentiality, but the overiding concern of the nurse should be to act always in the patients best interest. Margaret Haywood may have breached the "rules" in individual cases but acted to protect patients overall on a collective level. This is not just NMC rules we are considering here but basic human moral and ethical actions.
This must have taken a considerable amount of courage on her part. Nurses feel intimidated and often act defensively rather than proactively in their practice because they fear the consequences which can be very subtly applied, eg being branded as a poor team player and being refused for promotion.
I am so thankful now to be retired. I am free of the real stress and anxiety caused by trying to nurse in a climate where the actual coalface delivery of care is so hampered by shortages of staff and resources.
Every nurse reflecting on the case of Margaret Haywood needs to ask themselves the question. If they had been in a similar situation would they have had the courage to do the same? I so sincerely hope that I would have.
BG
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It feels as if they were saying:
"We know our laundry was dirty, we know it shouldn't be dirty, but we object to it being washed in public".
Sadly, I feel that too many self-regulatory organisations behave in a similar way.
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What kind of Nurses do we need? Do we need Nurses that ignore the pleas of the sick and dying?Do we want Nurses who leave the weak and the vunerable to fend for themselves,unable to feed themselves or reach a toilet? Do we want Nurses who look away because they are too 'busy' to care? Or do we want Nurses like Margaret Hayworth, who put her job on the line to help people like you and me in our hour of need. If I were ever unfortunate enough to be at the mercy of the National Heath Service I know what kind of Nurse I'd be looking for- and Margaret Hayworth would be first on my list. What kind of society have we become , where we punish the messengers of 'bad news'? I think the answer is staring us in the face.
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Please can the BBC support Mrs Haywood's appeal, if she makes one. I watched the Panorama programme when it was broadcast and was full of admiration for Margaret's bravery in exposing the dreadful treatment of the vulnerable elderly patients. Judging from the amount of support she is receiving from fellow listeners it seems that most people were as incensed as I was when hearing the news that she has been struck off.
NHS managent should be concentrating on providing proper care and treatment of patients and listening to nurses and patients concerns rather than persecuting whistle blowers.
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Just phoned the NMC to ask how I complain about the NMC to the NMC. I was passed over to what was called 'The Communications Dept'. When I expressed in no uncertain terms my feelings about the situation, wanting to know how I complain to them about it, I was asked if I minded being put on hold. When I asked why, I was told, (bearing in mind this was the communications Dept), That they would have to ask a colleague who I should contact! Clearly, the don't do complaints!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
As a nurse, she knew it was against the rules to take photos of ill people without their consent (Getting it from the families later is no excuse.) When my wife was still working, she was a steward for nurses and would have had a hard time defending Mrs Haywood.
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McNickle,
If it was going to save your life, would you have objected?
Also, whistleblowing like this is acceptable in the public interest.
Also she was unaware of and had no faith in laid down proceedure.
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Hmm - I see from the disappearance of fjd's (139) that the BBC is already lending sterling support to Margaret Haywood's cause by refusing to list the address of the NMC so that people can write to them and express their feelings.
Openly listed on the NMC website is the address for any correspondence - communications@nmc-uk.org. Perhaps some people would like to let them know what they think of the ruling on Margaret Haywood.
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fJd 141, Don't you 'McNickle' me, you, you, you, something or other.
I was just telling it the way it is and the trouble my wife would have had defending her. Whistleblowing should be don't with a little discretion.
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Mcn 143, McNickle, wot's with this don't word? Do you mean done? Well say so! Think before you type!
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fJd 141, And another think, you, you, you, wotsit, not knowing the procedure is no excuse. She should have known.
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I am not a nurse. I do have quite a lot of recent experience of dealing with one hospital as a patient, and three other hospitals as the friend of patients.
None of these hospitals was apparently able to treat a patient as one would wish to treat an invalid in his or her home, or as one would wish to be treated if ill.
Such things as busy nurses not answering a patient's bedside bell may be unavoidable, but not doing so at night seems less forgivable: as a patient I listened for much of an hour with my bell unanswered whilst nurses at the "station" outside the ward chatted away and ignored it.
Complain? I was too ill! Go and fetch them? I was on a drip and a monitor, I was going nowhere.
And that, according to my brother (who worked in administration for the NHS and then for the Nuffield) is the trouble. People are too ill to complain about the small matters like dirt, discourtesy and inefficiency, and when they are a bit better they are simply so glad to get away that they try to put the whole experience behind them and don't want to go through a long complaints procedure which they feel will do little good.
There is also the simple question of proof: I know, because I had a watch, that I waited from 0205 till 0258 for someone to bring me something to be sick into and was sick in the end onto the floor, but that is my word against three nurses' words, and somehow I doubt they will support me.
Only if someone is brave enough to produce proof such as this Panorama film can it be shown clearly just what is really going on.
But each and every one of us who visits a hospital and sees cobwebs over the doors of wards week after week and month after month, or blood-stains on walls, or dirty bedding, or dust and dirt on windowcills, or observes an elderly and incontinent patient being hustled into the ward's lavatory and left there naked and unattended for forty minutes with the window open "to get rid of the smell" while other patients are sent to a lavatory down the hall, or can be sure of any one of dozens of other things that are wrong, could help by complaining about them, all the time, loudly, at every possible level.
Some people in admin *are* like my brother, and they *will* listen. Their problem is somehow finding out, and at the moment they mostly don't, because complaining is made difficult.
It is our health service, though, and we should be working on it too.
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C_G 148, I have experience of bigwigs from gov'ts visiting hospitals where people have gone around slapping a lick of paint over cracks, cleaning up a bit and putting flowers around to make everything look fine. Only one person (a Labour MP) came back to look at things later and see that something got fixed.
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The one undeniable fact was that neglect, abuse and potentially dangerous care was highlighted by the programme. I would hope that these will be investigated and look forward to the NMC's judgement on the nurses and nurse managers who have tolerated such care. I can’t see as yet how their judgement addresses these issues.
It seems that Margaret has paid a high price. No job, no career for highlighting appalling standards of care. If only she was a Police Officer or an incompetent surgeon she may have got away with a suspension, retraining or early retirement.
I also think that this case raises a number of issues that need to be answered.
Firstly, who reported Margaret Haywood to the NMC? If it was a relative of one of the patients then I would also hope that they also made a complaint to the Trust, the PCT, DoH etc. If it was the Trust then the judgement of the NMC is protecting the confidentiality of the Trust not the patient.
Secondly, although nurse's have a legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality this can be breached with the patients consent, if there is a public interest or serious crime. It would appear that there is a public interest and crime in the form of abuse has also been committed.
Thirdly, if the nursing union the RCN can not bring itself to support the principle of a public interest in this case and support Margaret what is it there for? The RCN representative was evasive, weak and just spouted rhetoric. Shame on you RCN.
Finally, the NMC judgement means that nurses will be reluctant to report such appalling care in the future. This can only perpetuate such treatment. Where secrecy exists there is no need for change or momentum to improve.
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MCN,
David, Mr McNickle,
Let me explain something and then you can ask the Missus to confirm.
I would have thought it wouldn't be too much effort to build a case in favour of Mrs Hayward due to public interest.
I would have thought that in any court in this land, public interest would take precedence over any rules and regulations that could be construed as protecting the service provider rather than the service user/receiver. Especially in a case where the service user/receivers were/are acutely vulnerable and largely unable to bring their treatment concerns to the attention of an accepted dreadfully failing authority. Especially when the belief was/is that the establishment had a vested interest in suppressing complaining.
You can find more than a few nurses who, to just raise concerns, let alone investigate the bureaucratic complaints (and some would say flawed) procedure, believe this would draw a certain uncomfortable negative attention to themselves.
I'm also convinced that enough negative and prejudiced experiences could be sighted when Professionals like nurses have had cause to bring their concerns to the complaints procedure. Let alone patients!
Bearing all this in mind, I find that, in this case, Public interest takes precedence over a secretive and bureaucratic procedure, no matter how well meaning that procedure may seek to be.
I would have thought patients and the public should owe a dept of gratitude to nurse Hayward in this respect.
So in the light of this,
I would also add, that the local health authority instigate an immediate investigation involving the CPS as to weather any criminal proceeding might be brought against those in overall responsibility for patient care and laid down standards.
Case Dissmissed.
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fJd 159, Wifey is shopping. I'll ask when she gets back. I agree with what Heywood did, but would have gone about it in a way where I wouldn't have got caught.
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DMC,
What, like you would hide in broom cupboards with a 'man from U.N.C.L.E.' camera you got in a lucky bag?
Hello to the wifey.
Me.
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This is absolutely outrageous - it seems that whilst ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law it is perfectly acceptable when it benefits vested interest. A classic example of shooting the messenger. It is deplorable when a person speaking out is accused of telling tales, being disloyal or pursuing self-interest when the real issue is the matter being highlighted. If any of those involved in this decision were the victim of a crime would they expect a witness to speak out or stay quiet? Unbelievable.
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This decision is outrageous.
Have any of the Managers at the Hospital/Trust been referred to the Fitness to Practice Council for failing to care for the patients on that ward?
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I didn't see the programme but I assume the BBC did not pixellate the patients' faces. Why not? This technology has been used countless times to try to preserve anonymity.
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fJd 151, I won't say, butI got away with it, yeeeaaaarrrs ago.
What you think and what I think doesn't count. That's what Peter Carter-Rucks and judges are for. Public interest/right to know is argued about all the time. Wifey said that it was a breach of confidentiality and Haywood probably knew about that. My wife would have defended her and got her a lawyer as that was her job as a steward, but would have had a difficult time.
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FRI 153, What the Trust did and what the nurse did are two different cases.
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D McN - No, they are not. The nurse only did what she did because the Trust didn't carry out its duties.
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Horse,
Do you think he does it purposely to wind us up?
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fjd (158) - Nope.
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I'll keep this brief because I'm in France on a friend's computer:
David - you are wrong.
Horse - you are right.
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fJd 158, Stop winding Horse up.
TIH, I always tell people when I have referred them.
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D_M 155
The late Peter F--ter --ck?
He of "Private Eye" fame?
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DMcN - Who have you referred?
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D_M 156
Quite right.
But, they should not have been.
TIH 157
"Regrettably" (in the correct sense of the word)
You're spot-on!
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Classic 'shoot-the-messenger' claptrap.
Does this mean Tim Samuels is up for another carpeting ?
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Charlie 162, He's the one. I surprised the mods didn't misread the name and delete it.
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L_S 160, My wife was a nurse for over 30 years, and I'm right.
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TIH, There is an old shaggy dog joke about a sacred bird on an island called a foo....
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D_M 167
Your wife was a nurse for over 30 years...
And, she's right! Stop hitching a free-ride.
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My wife would have represented a nurse, but not a Trust. Two different cases. Yep, different. Not the same thing. Yep!
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Chris (146) My experience is a little different from yours!
In many NHS trusts there are patient satisfaction forms that are supposed to be given to patients on discharge. In practice when I was in the NHS the policy seemed to be that the nurses gave them to the patients who were going to say something very nice and to those who were going to go to PALS. I did think that this was quite cynical but we never heard the outcomes of the surveys that came back, nor the response rates.
My experience of the independent sector is very different. Every patient is asked to provide consent for their notes to be used for audit and for viewing by the HCC (now CQC) at inspection. If they decline - that's fine - the record is kept at the front of their notes. At inspection time (external and internal) the inspector asks to speak in confidence to some patients and some staff about their experience of the organisation.
On discharge every patient is asked to complete a patient satisfaction survey. These are monitored centrally and reported on monthly. Low response rates are investigated and action taken to try and improve the rates. The results are supposed to be made available to every member of staff (and are at my hospital). We try to learn from the hospitals that get the high scores across the rest of the organisation. If a patient or relative expresses that they are not happy with something whilst they are with us we try and sort it out there and then. If it comes in on the survey we try and sort it out afterwards. Every complaint is documented, whether it is a formal complaint or an "adverse comment."
The information pack that we give them tells them how to complain or raise concerns either directly with us or with the CQC. Some of the complaints that are made do refer to cold soup, funny smell in the bathroom and a cobweb in the room but these are all referred to the appropriate manager and investigated and rectified.
I understood exactly what motivated the nurse to uncover the poor quality of care that she witnessed. My discomfort comes from the secret filming and the failure to obtain informed consent. I'd feel very unhappy if my relative had experienced that level of care but I wouldn't have been happy either that they had been secretly filmed whilst vulnerable by someone they were trusting to look after them. I'm not sitting on the fence - I am genuinely uncomfortable with this. However until staff satisfaction surveys and patient satisfaction surveys are carried out consistently in the NHS with transparent reporting of results I do have worries that there are other places still like this.
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And because of patient confidentiality, my wife wouldn't/still doesn't discuss cases with me.
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David (172) Mmm - always difficult when one of my father's friends comes in to pick up his prescription and says, "Give your Dad my regards." I tend not to bother passing it on and pretend I've forgotten all about it when I next see him.
I am blessed with a truly appalling memory for names once I'm outside the context in which I know it which helps enormously though!
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Margaret is a scape goat for an authority whose lack of concern has driven her to an act of passion.
Margaret is a decent possibly naive person who loves nursing. Her heart has bled for what she has seen happen to her patients.
She will have raised concerns but they have laughed at her.
Confidentiality alongside bullying and harassment are the new tools of power that cynical hospital authorities hide behind.
May those managers laugh at her from hell.
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Nobody owns up to reading blogs including me but Eddie you temptress last night you said "blog pm" here I am. I had a judge sitting in my front room the other day asking whether I read blogs and at that stage I didn't and said so. It was a bit scary.
Blogs are terrific as in this case of Margaret we are guaranteed no Hospital Administrors are pushing the button as they do NOT do blogs. We have total peace.
In 173 replies I find not one reply. I am a Hospital Administrator and wish to defend my position. They are like the prison guards who used to open the doors of the ovens. It is not me they cry!
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RxKaren (171)
Would there be any way to gain informed consent from the patients in question without blowing the whole reason for the Panorama program, which the vast majority of people on this blog (and I suspect the rest of the country) applaud for its exposure?
To say that there is a proper complaints procedure and comments procedure within your place of work wasn't helping these patients was it?
Someone else has said in a post that if it was a the health authority who referred Margaret Haywood to the NMC then the NMC has acted to protect an appalling failing health authority-not patients or nurses as they purport to be there for and who pay money each year to to be able to practice.
Again, in an earlier post it was pointed out, that if this had been an executive of some kind they probably would have quietly been resigned or quietly let go/retired with a large pay off. They probably would have popped up in another part of the country in some other health setting when it had all died down.
I have no sympathy with your argument, I believe the public interest in this case (no matter how uncomfortable) trumps procedure and legal niceties.
A few years back I complained to my local health authority which supposedly went to an independent review. This review was anything but independent and meetings were chaired by someone imposed by the local trust who in the written summing up of the minutes misled, exaggerated, and simply, conveniently left out huge relevant information that would have exposed the medical professionals that I had cause to complain about.
I ended up having to go to the health care commission and publicly demonstrating outside my local health authority headquarters. Not so long after this the health care commission (although I don't think it was solely down to me) inspected a local hospital and downgraded its rating. I would have no hesitation if I had to again speak truth to power in this context.
Sometimes it seems we have to become individual campaigns to get things done. Obviously not at your place though.
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congenialprobity @ 175, my post back there mentioned that my brother's problem was getting the patients' side of the story, from an admin position. I'm not sure that I understand your post properly, though.
RxKaren @ 147, well, I wasn't asked to fill in a form about anything as I left; my father wasn't on the first time he left (on the second occasion he was dead so I assume it doesn't apply) and on none of the oh, fourteen or so cases my dearest friend has left hospital (in two different towns) after major surgery or other treatment has she been given anything to fill in for them about her stay.
So that's four NHS trusts in four different towns that don't seem to have been doing this during the past five years.
When my brother moved from the NHS to the Nuffield he found that there was a big difference in the amount of feedback he got regarding how patients felt about how they had been treated: maybe the Nuffield people asked, and the NHS ones hadn't, in the areas in which he worked.
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Please fight to re-instate this nurse. She filmed a situation which existed for a very long time - and it was not sensationalised. My father-in-law was in that ward at about that time. The nurses (if one was to be found) were ignorant of the conditions of their patiens, uncaring and unprofessional. At no time was my father-in-law's fluid chart filled in and he suffered from a kidney complaint which meant that he had to have his input and output fluids measured. No-one seemed to be aware of his condition, his prognosis or the medication he required. He had Parkinsons disease as well and we tried to ensure he took his medication. Every time we visited (daily) his medication chart was incomplete and we had to tell the staff all over again. My firend's grandmother was in at the same time. She fell off her commode and was left on the floor without help for an hour. She later died of pneumonia. No-one cared. No-one showed any compassion for the patients. No-one showed any medical competence or understanding. The patients were just carcasses. Even if this situation was down to insufficient staffing there is no excuse for treating people this way. Had the film not been made nothing would have changed (I don't really know how much it has changed...) and the management were well aware of the situation through many complaints. She did a public service and I, for one, am grateful to her.
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Could it be that the nursing and midwifery council have been so hard on this nurse because it shows how low the standard of nursing has fallen in many places?
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How would we have known about these deplorable standards of 'care' without this nurse enlightening us?
Mid Staffs Hospital staff were unable to report similar shocking standards because of fear of losing their jobs.
It is in Managers' interest to cover-up, as they know it will reflect on them.
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Bw 180, Oh for cruds sake, write an anonymous letter to several newspapers, national and local.
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DMcN, that's something everyone could be doing, yes. Also writing to MPs. Also writing to the Health Trust. And so on.
Speaking of "dirty laundry" -- if they don't wash it properly in private (and I'd say from the filth on the curtains round the beds that they don't wash it from one month's end to the next) then washing it in public really does need to be done.
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CG,
I agree with you @182.
I think if this exposure had been done in say, the way McNickle suggests, this would have alerted managers before the wider public and inspection bodies were aware of the full extent of the problems.
Management would have time to create a defence of what normal thinking people would find indefesible-if not swept under the carpet.
We all know about how this type of management deal in damage limitation. They make themselves seem like they are addressing the situation, when in reality they do no such thing, and in my opinion don't care who really knows about it as long as they can get away with it.
This is way I find it crucial that unless and until these people who purport to run our services on our behalf are seen to be held criminally responsible, little, if anything will change.
Finally Chris, I do believe now after this deceitful and disgusting ruling by the NMC, the BBC owe a duty of care to Margaret Haywood, especially if she never believed it would all come to this.
In any fair system she would have been promoted-not this.
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fjd 183
Good to hear that Ms haywood had very strong support from contributors to BBC R4's "Any Answers" today.
Some good suggestions on why she should be promoted and what her role should be.
Nothing's "over, 'till it's over" and Ms Haywoods case isn't, I would suggest, over yet...
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fJd @ 183, the thing I remember all the time about the NHS as it is now constituted is that a long time ago (decades, now) when there were major changes to the NHS (we must remember always to call them "improvements", mustn't we, boys and girls?) everyone I knew who had anything to do with the health service expressed concern that it was getting "top-heavy", with too many administrators and too few people actually getting on with the job of curing people. Also too much paperwork for too little actual work.
I remember that when my brother (sorry to keep on about him, but he's one person whose views and experiences I can be sure about) took over a post fairly high up in the system, he found that his predecessor in that post had had two full-time secretaries. He shortly worked out that his post actually provided enough work for one part-time person as well as him to do, and managed to get rid of one of them; the other luckily had a baby about then and was glad to work part-time in her old job, which suited them both.
After he moved on, he discovered that one of the first things his successor did was discover that he needed two full-time secretaries...
He concluded that it was all about prestige, and people who felt insecure about their jobs having enough visible clout, and nothing whatever to do with the job itself.
I don't suppose his was an isolated case, either.
I don't agree about "in any fair system [Ms Haywood] would have been promoted", though, because I think that in any *fair* system she would have been able to do her job (nursing) and not have needed to draw attention by drastic means to the way that job was not being properly done.
I do agree, very strongly, that she should not have been so seriously punished for doing the job that the management dratted well ought to have been doing for themselves: seeing what was wrong and trying to correct it.
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C_G 185, You have a brother?
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fJd 183, The BBC should have known the rules and protected Haywood better.
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C_G 185
"...that she should not have been so seriously punished for doing the job that the management dratted well ought to have been doing for themselves: seeing what was wrong and trying to correct it."
Agreed. Add to that, as should Ms Haywood's medical colleagues.
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DMcN @ 186, yes, and I have probably mentioned him in every post I've made to this thread, because he has been being unhappy about the state of admin in the NHS for quite a long time now, from a position in admin in the NHS and then another health area. Hence my apology.
Charlie @ 188, some at least of her colleagues are being punished just as she was until now, by not being able to do their job properly. Others presumably don't even try, though whether they have given up or whether they were never any good at it I don't suppose we'll ever know.
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C_G 189, My brother lives in Chicago, and try as hard as I can, I can't get him to communicate with me. Both of my sisters do, however.
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D_M 190
" ...Both of my sisters do, however."
Communicate with you, or, your brother..?
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Charlie (184)
Yes, I listened too. Good to hear what was said. Impressed with the person who suggested Nurse Haywood be given a special consultative post. Like you say, it isn't over yet.
Incidentally, I phoned the NMC the other morning. I was put through to the 'Communications' Dept. I asked, "how do I complain to the NMC about the NMC itself"? I was put on hold while the person had to find out the person/procedure. What hope has any of us got eh!
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DMN (187)
How should the BBC have protected her then?
Isn't it all a bit academic now?
Shouldn't they look at supporting her in her fight for reinstatement? (if that is what she would like).
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C_G 189
" ...some at least of her colleagues are being punished just as she was until now, by not being able to do their job properly."
Quite an assumption.
And, from what I understand at present, none of them (Ms. Haywood's colleagues across the medical spectrum that is) are complaining that, that, is the case.
Ms. Haywood's unfortunate problem is that, at present, she alone, seems to be the only medical "professional" prepared to disclose the true facts.
Today, morality and medicine do not seem to go hand-in-glove. A great shame.
Anyway, time will tell.
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Charlie, I simply don't believe that all the nurses but one working in the NHS are venial and uncaring. It seems so utterly unlikely!
If they know that complaining will mean they can do even less to help the sick (as in Ms Haywood's case) some at least may still be struggling to do the best they can, in the face of all the opposition that she met.
I call that "punishment".
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fJd 193, By telling her she was foolish for agreeing to do the program.
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Charlie 191, My sister said that my brother doesn't talk to any of us very often, if at all.
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Charlie 191, I think my brother takes after my father. That is, he acts like him, he doesn't chase him around the block. Which would be impossible, because he is dead. My father, that is, not my brother. Because if my brother was dead, he definitely couldn't speak to me. I'm not a medium. I prefer my meat well done. I hope that clears things up. After all, this isn't the One Night In The Middle Of The Day poem.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
C_G 195
"...If they know that complaining will mean they can do even less to help the sick (as in Ms Haywood's case) some at least may still be struggling to do the best they can, in the face of all the opposition that she met.
I call that "punishment""
So, how do serious problems get corrected?
No, I think those who don't complain are as much the problem as anything.
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D_M 197
Sad...
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Charlie 201, Well, I'm in England, one sister is in Cleveland, the other Pennsylvania, and my brother is in Chicago. But, we all are on the internet, so there is no excuse.
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fJd, I'm sure your 199 was very funny.
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DMN (203)
No, just the truth!
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I am appalled at Margaret Haywood's treatment. The NHS should be ashamed of themselves for effectively sacking someone because she cared enough to do something about the poor treatment of the elderly.
I worked in Care Homes and made two written complaints to the care standards about the dreadful conditions. I identified myself in both letters because I felt my complaints would be taken more seriously but nothing was really done about it.
Margaret Haywood had already made complaints to her seniors but they chose to ignore her.
The whole country (and especially the nurses) need to back Margaret Haywood up and demand her re-instatement. We can't let these beaurocrats ruin a caring and dedicated nurse' life!
The message from the NHS is clear:
'Keep your mouth shut or not only will you lose your job, you'll never work as a nurse again.'
Shame on them...
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fJd 204, That'll teach you not to be funny.
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I am really confused about this. My wife and I are the parents of a lovely but very demanding 17 year old daughter, who is profoundly disabled, and 100% dependent on committed, deeply caring people all day and every day. One day we will be too old and too tired to care for her properly, and she will move into FT care. When this happens we will need to know, because we love her that who ever picks up the full time mantle of care will do everything they can to make her tough little life worth living. More than that, we hope that if she is ever being let down then someone will have the sense, the moral fibre and honesty of purpose to report it. Thank god for people like this poor lady who has been sacked, who had the sense of duty and care to flag up the abuse she saw...... and shame on those pompous grey people who cling like limpits to out dated, limp wristed policies for their own sakes without thinking of the lives that will have been improved and saved. It simply breaks my heart.
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I have been a registered nurse, full time for many years in the NHS. All I can say is, I hope more nurses put pressure on those managers who hold the purse strings. I personally have been reporting my concerns to management and even contacted the Health Care Commision, to voice my concerns on reduced patient care due to lack of resources. Unpaid overtime by nurses ensures that patients, do not suffer. Unfortunately the trusts see this free service by caring nurses as the norm despite EU legislation. Managers offer lip service and no other support to ground staff who are exhausted and near breaking point. It was interesting in the documentary when Margaret mentioned nurses developing coping strategies when under pressure, this is so true. The Health Care Commission suggested I speak with the Chief Executive of the trust. Like most nurses I am reluctant to do this for fear of victimisatiion. I applaud Margaret for her bravery and opening up to the nation. She has highlighted what really goes on in NHS trusts today and the standards that once were slipping at the cost of lives along with patients comfort, privacy and dignity. A price cannot be put on those we love and care for and in my opinion, more and more dedicated and experienced nurses will leave the profession either voluntarily or via NMC board by being struck off!
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I think it's totally out of order that this lady, Margaret Hayward was sacked for doing what’s right, protecting the elderly. They say the best form of defence is attack & by attacking Margaret Hayward for whistle blowing is yet another crime. Whatever happened to justice?!
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Better late than never ( procrastination is my only talent) NMC/margaret Haywood. Astounded and bewildered like everyone else. I see that the NMC are advertising for "panellists" - need to be sharp thinkers and be able to apply sound judgement. Perhaps these panellists are to replace the panel that treated Ms Haywood so badly.I can only think that the old panel have been headhunted by North Korea or China where no opposition is tolerated and black is proved to be white on a regular basis
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This is a ridiculous judgement against someone with real honesty, compassion and dedication. It reflects very badly on the NHS and can only do them harm. I know who I would rather have looking after me if I was ill.
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