Petitions set up in support of Margaret Haywood

There are now a number of petitions set up in support of Margaret Haywood, the 'whistleblowing' nurse who has been struck off so unfairly by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Here's a couple I have chosen to support.

The following Petition has been set up by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) who have been providing legal representation for Margaret Haywood:

Petition in Support of Margaret Haywood > Support for whistleblowing nurse struck off by NMC @ GoPetitions

The petition reads:

"We, the undersigned, wish to show our support for nurse Margaret Haywood who raised issues of concern around poor patient care.

We believe that Margaret was justified in exposing the worrying conditions at her local hospital and that the NMC was wrong to strike her off the nursing register."

This Petition is to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street website:

Petition for the Prime Minister to Intervene on behalf of Nurse Margaret Haywood @ Number10 > Prime Minister's Office

I have happily signed both petitions but I have to say I think the Prime Minister's e-Petition is a bit of a waste of time... as I doubt very much that Brown will be at all inclined to intervene in this matter... his Government is more intent on muzzling whistle blowers... not helping people in need!

Latest News on Margaret Haywoood

Ms Haywood from Liverpool, who worked as a nurse for 20 years and is now unemployed and disbarred from carying on employment as a Nurse by the NMC, is now taking advice from her professional body, the RCN, about challenging the ruling at the High Court.

Chris Cox, director of legal services at the Royal College of Nursing, said:

"The RCN has been providing legal representation for Margaret Haywood from the outset and is very surprised at the severity of the punishment dealt out by the NMC panel.

Our legal team are working with Margaret to explore the various legal options available to her in light of the judgment."

I wish them every success... and the sooner the better!

Today, I was also pleased to read that hundreds of nurses have contacted the Nursing and Midwifery Council to protest its decision to to ban Ms Haywood from the profession, amid fears that it will discourage other NHS whistleblowers from coming forward.

Yesterday, the NMC disclosed that it they had received over 400 emails and 200 telephone calls in support of Ms Haywood, with most of the complaints coming from other nurses.

I have visited many websites who have commented on this story over the last few days. It's quite amazing that I have yet to come across a comment in support of the NMC's decision... that is quite telling and just shows how out of step the NMC's ruling is with NHS staff and the public at large.

Here's one comment I came across, in the Nursing Times, which rather encapsulates NHS Staff (and the general public's) strong feelings in this matter:

"The health, safety, well being and care of patients is what is meant to concern us. This principle should over-ride any requirement to ask patients permission to record the lack of or poor quality of the care and treatment they are receiving.

After this foolish ruling nobody will feel inclined to raise concerns about any aspect of treatment and those who suffer will be the patients whose care is our number 1 concern!

Source: NMC defends decision to strike off undercover nurse Margaret Haywood. | News | Nursing Times

If you would like to support Margaret Haywood on Facebook, there are a number of Groups now set up. You can find them posted at this Facebook Group whose aim is to Reinstate Margaret Haywood.

If you want to let the NMC know how you feel you can do so by emailing this article to them - Just click on the 'SHARE' button below to email them - Copy these email addresses as they are (including the comma) and paste it into the email address window of the 'SHARE' email: fitness.to.practise@nmc-uk.org, communications@nmc-uk.org - You might like to add, as I did, that you think their decision is "appalling and shameful"!