Secret filming nurse struck off

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Secret filming nurse struck off

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8002782.stm

Margaret Haywood worked undercover on a Panorama documentary

 

A nurse who secretly filmed for the BBC to reveal the neglect of elderly patients at a hospital has been struck off for misconduct.

 

Margaret Haywood, 58, filmed at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton for a BBC Panorama programme in July 2005.

 

She was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council which said she failed to "follow her obligations as a nurse".

 

Ms Haywood, a nurse for over 20 years, said she thought she had been treated harshly and had put patients first.

 

Ms Haywood, from Liverpool, said: "I am absolutely devastated and upset by it all. I think I have been treated very harshly.

 

Panorama believes that Margaret Haywood has done the elderly population of this country a great service

BBC spokesman

 

Calls for whistle-blower review

 

"It is a serious issue and I knew it was a risk I was taking but I thought the filming was justified and it was in the public interest.

 

"I always made it clear to the BBC that patients would come first at all times."

 

She said she had voiced her concerns through her immediate line manager "but nothing was really taken on board" and the whole process now needed to be reviewed.

'Patients' dignity compromised'

 

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Whistle-blowers already have full protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act passed by this Government.

 

"We expect that any member of staff who reports concerns about the safety or quality of care to be listened to by their managers and action taken to address their concerns."

 

She was found guilty of misconduct on Wednesday following a fitness to practise hearing.

 

The panel said she "followed the behest of the filmmakers... rather than her obligations as a nurse".

 

The chair of the panel, Linda Read, said Ms Haywood had prioritised the filming, which in the view of the panel "was a major breach of the code of conduct".

 

She said: "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.

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How can the NMC expect respect and confidence from the public they are supposed to be serving when they react in this deplorable and protectionist manner?

 

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"Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen.

 

She said the misconduct was "fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse".

 

"The registrant could have attempted to address shortcomings by other means. But this was never a course of action which she fully considered."

 

Ms Haywood had admitted breaching patient confidentiality but denied her fitness to practise had been impaired.

 

This makes total nonsense of all the talk about openness and transparency in the NHS. Cover-up is the order of the game

Joyce Robins, Patient Concern

 

Elizabeth Bloor, the BBC programme's producer, told the hearing there had been "an over-arching public interest" to produce the Undercover Nurse documentary because Panorama had received up to 5,000 complaints about conditions.

 

In November the panel found no evidence that Ms Haywood broke the NHS Trust's policy on whistle-blowing by raising concerns about patient care in the documentary, or that she failed to assist colleagues when a patient was having a seizure.

 

A BBC spokesman said: "There was clearly a strong public interest in revealing that some elderly people were not receiving the level of care we expect from our national health service.

 

"Panorama believes that Margaret Haywood has done the elderly population of this country a great service."

'Right and proper'

 

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said its code of conduct stated that surreptitious means of gaining information were permissible in the public interest, and the same should apply to whistle-blowers.

 

Tim Gopsill, of the NUJ, said: "Sometimes the only way to get anything done is to go to the media. No-one could possibly argue that this story was not in the public interest."

 

The panel's ruling was also criticised by Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern.

 

She said: "This just demonstrates the priorities of the regulators - rules come before patients every time. The message that goes out to nurses is: however badly you see patients treated, keep your face shut.

 

"This makes total nonsense of all the talk about openness and transparency in the NHS. Cover-up is the order of the game."

 

Ms Haywood's actions were also defended by Gary Fitzgerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse.

 

He said: "We know that we're seeing older people suffering the most appalling care and neglect too often in our care environments.

 

"In that context I believe what Margaret Haywood did and what Panorama did was right and proper."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8002559.stm

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Calls for whistle-blower review

Margaret Haywood worked undercover on the Panorama documentary

 

A nurse who was struck off after secretly filming an expose of elderly care at a hospital claims staff are afraid to speak out.

 

Margaret Haywood, 58, who filmed at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton in 2005, has called for a review of how the NHS deals with whistle-blowers.

 

The Conservative Party said: "Too often in the NHS there is a closed culture which seeks to hush up problems."

 

The Department of Health said whistle-blowers were protected by law.

 

The Nursing and Midwifery Council said Ms Haywood did not fulfil her nursing obligations and found her guilty of misconduct.

 

 

 

Too often in the NHS there is a closed culture which seeks to hush up problems rather than address them

 

Anne Milton

 

The chair of the fitness to practise panel, Linda Read, said Ms Haywood, of Liverpool, could have attempted to address shortcomings by other means "but it was never a course of action she fully considered".

 

Ms Haywood, who has been a nurse for over 20 years, said she was convinced she had done the right thing.

 

She said: "It is a serious issue and I knew it was a risk I was taking but I thought the filming was justified and it was in the public interest.

 

"I did voice my concerns through my immediate line manager and I also went to my ward manager but nothing was really taken on board."

 

Ms Haywood added: "Nurses are afraid to speak out about what is happening and the whole process needs to be reviewed so nurses can make it easier to voice their concerns."

 

'Genuine concerns'

 

A spokesman for the Royal College of Nursing said parts of the NHS did not have "systems or working environments" in place that encouraged staff to speak out.

 

He added: "This can put staff in an extremely difficult position and when staff concerns are discouraged or ignored, it can often lead to poor patient care getting worse.

 

"It is absolutely vital that healthcare staff at all levels feel they can raise concerns about poor patient care with their managers."

 

But a Department of Health spokesperson said: "Whistle-blowers already have full protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act passed by this Government.

 

"We expect that any member of staff who reports concerns about the safety or quality of care to be listened to by their managers and action taken to address their concerns.

 

"The new NHS Constitution includes an explicit right for staff who report wrong doing to be protected and we have set up a special helpline for whistle-blowers which treats calls in confidence."

 

Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton said the Conservative Party would give nurses and doctors new protection to "report their concerns easily and anonymously".

 

'Dignity and respect'

 

She said: "It is indefensible for any health professional to breach patient confidentiality and film elderly people without consent while they are in a state of distress.

 

"But we need to understand why Ms Haywood felt the need to do what she did. Too often in the NHS there is a closed culture which seeks to hush up problems rather than address them."

 

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb called on the government to make an "absolute commitment to dignity and respect in the way the elderly are treated".

 

He said: "While no member of staff should breach patient confidentiality, the bottom line is that Margaret Haywood has exposed the horrifying and disgraceful way many elderly patients are treated.

 

"It is simply outrageous that this is going on in today's NHS. This neglect, which verges on abuse, is utterly intolerable in this day and age and must be exposed and eradicated."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8003228.stm

[sammynb 3645]

Shame, the thread title promised so much more!

[snakehips 0]

Shame, the thread title promised so much more!

 

Huh? How much watching someone-sleeping-whilst-on-duty could you take???

[Guest Hova]

Can't be arsed to shuffle through the article to see if this is mentioned, but did Panorama pay her for it?

[Park Life 71]

Shame, the thread title promised so much more!

 

Fo sho.

[sammynb 3645]

Shame, the thread title promised so much more!

 

Huh? How much watching someone-sleeping-whilst-on-duty could you take???

 

I give you how many series of Big Brother!