A nurse who secretly filmed for BBC Panorama to reveal the neglect of elderly patients at the Royal Sussex Hospital, has been struck off for misconduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The panel ruled that Margaret Haywood "followed the behest of the filmmakers... rather than her obligations as a nurse" they went on to say:Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen.Margaret Haywood was a nurse for over 20 years, it was clearly a decision she didn't undertake lightly. She said that she'd expressed her concerns both to her immediate line manager and to her ward manager, but they did nothing. She would have been failing in her duty of care as a nurse, to close her eyes and keep drawing her salary, as the other nurses and managers did at that hospital.
More importantly she wouldn't have had to risk her job if management listened to staff concerns, if this culture of "there are things will don't speak of" didn't run through the NHS. It's completely disgraceful that it's cost Ms Haywood her job, her intentions clearly were for the right reasons. As sadly would conditions at that hospital have improved, without Panorama doing a programme on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment