Switch to an accessible version of this website which is easier to read. (requires cookies)

Mistreatment of elderly in NHS, and the whistle blowing nurse

June 10, 2009 4:36 PM

You may have heard about Nurse Margaret Haywood, a whistle blowing nurse struck off the Nursing register for secretly filming inhuman & degrading treatment of elderly patients in a NHS hospital, for BBC Panorama. 42000 people have now signed an online petition from the Royal College of Nursing calling for her re-instalment. It has been a catalyst for an outpouring of grief and anger about poor and unequal treatment of the elderly that is all too common in the NHS.

The petition comments document many peoples direct experience of this. Likewise the frustration of staff who fear victimisation if they speak out unacceptable unacceptable standards of care. I hope you will add your voices by all signing the petition, and alerting others, perhaps by putting a link to it on your website.

Everyone should speak out about ageism and human rights of (we) the older people in this country. This is all too often ignored, yet the overwhelming support for the petition indicates a strength of feeling and anger that is out there. The elderly have human rights too. I hope the Liberal Democrats will campaign vigorously about the injustices and mistreatment that Margaret Haywood case has exposed both before and after the next general election.

20 Lib Dem MP's have signed an early day motion supporting Nurse Haywood which is to their credit. Even Ben Bradshaw a junior Health Minister until recently, said the Nursing and Midwifery Council decision was wrong.

Please encourage more people to sign the RCN petition. The petition can be found in our links section.

What would you like to do next?

  • Subscribe for updates

    Read updates from this website in your desktop or online news reader

    • On a news reader website

      •  
      •  
      •  

      In a desktop news reader or a website not listed above

      •  
    • Example monthly digest email
      •  
      •  
      •  
    • If you submit your contact details, the Liberal Democrats and their elected representatives may use the information you provide to contact you about issues you may find of interest. Some of the contacts may be automated. You can opt out of these contacts at any time by contacting


    • Generate different image

    Join our email list

    • If you submit your contact details, the Liberal Democrats and their elected representatives may use the information you provide to contact you about issues you may find of interest. Some of the contacts may be automated. You can opt out of these contacts at any time by contacting


    • Generate different image

    Follow the party's activity on...

  • Share this page

    Share this page on another website

    Link to this page

    On websites and printed material:
    disabilitylibdems.org.uk/en/article/2009/103286/mistreatment-of-elderly-in-nhs-and-the-whistle-blowing-nurse
    In text messages, Twitter, or reading over the phone:
    da.lib.dm/a64r8

    Email this page to a friend


    • Generate different image
  • Help out or donate

    Help out in your local area

      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
      •  
    • If you submit your contact details, the Liberal Democrats and their elected representatives may use the information you provide to contact you about issues you may find of interest. Some of the contacts may be automated. You can opt out of these contacts at any time by contacting


    • Generate different image
  • Tell us what you think

    Send us your views

    • If you agree, the Liberal Democrats and their elected representatives may use the information you provide to contact you about issues you may find of interest. Some of the contacts may be automated. You can opt out of these contacts at any time by contacting us.


    • Generate different image