NUJ backs NHS whistleblower
THE NURSE struck off the register for her undercover filming of the mistreatment of the elderly at a Brighton hospital should be applauded, not sacked, the NUJ said.
Margaret Haywood, a nurse of 20 years’ experience, helped make a BBC Panorama programme in 2005 that exposed the shocking and filthy conditions in which sick and confused old people in the Royal Sussex Hospital were left to die. The Nursing and Midwifery Council said she had breached patient confidentiality, but the NUJ said she had performed a great public service.
“Sometimes the only way to get anything done is to go to the media,” said Tim Gopsill, the union’s official for professional ethics. “No-one could possibly argue that this story was not in the public interest.”