Whistleblower nurse could be struck off for Panorama exposé of appalling abuse of elderly patients
By Daily Mail Reporter
25th November 2008
A nurse who exposed appalling neglect of the elderly at an NHS hospital began a fight to save her career today.
Margaret Haywood, 58, faces a series of disciplinary charges over a secret film she made for a BBC Panorama programme.
If a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel finds against her, she could be struck off the nursing register.
The veteran nurse was hired to help investigate concerns about the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
She and reporter Shabnam Grewal gathered evidence of failures to give even basic care to frightened and dying elderly patients.
One was left to die alone while others spent hours in their own filth or with nothing to drink. Some were in agony from a lack of pain relief.
Rachel Birks, for the NMC, said Haywood worked 28 shifts between November 2004 and April 2005 while secretly filming for Panorama.
She said: 'She had not sought consent from the patients involved when she filmed them and the NMC's case is that from patient charts and records she would have been able to provide documentary makers with the contact details for patients and their families.'
The Royal Sussex County Hospital, which then had the lowest rating of zero stars and an £8million deficit, had received a number of complaints before filming started.
The panel heard a senior nurse deny that pensioners were victims of neglect.
But Philip Kemp, a lead nurse in professional standards, admitted care was 'substandard' and that management knew patients were going without food or drink.
The hearing continues
Abridged
SOURCE: The Daily Mail UK
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