A very harsh decision

I am appalled at the striking off of the nurse, Margaret Haywood, by the Nursing and Midwifery Council earlier today. It seems to be a gross over-punishment for the whistle blower. To be honest, if I or one of my relations were in such a hospital I would much prefer that the deficiencies in care - which could possibly cause physical harm to a patient - were exposed even if there were the possibility of some loss of confidentiality.

This is also a bad decision for another reason; I would have hoped that after the Stafford debacle where concerns were raised but ignored by those in authority, lessons had been learnt about people who expose such dreadful mismanagement. This striking off is a huge retrograde step since it strengthens the position of the management who caused the problem in the first place. Nurses, doctors and others will now have the threat of losing their jobs if they speak to the press about terrible conditions in the NHS.

This travesty must be reversed.

The NHS can be efficient ...

Had the pre-admission screenings today which took up most of the afternoon but it went so smoothly that I couldn't believe it....

Started off on the orthopaedic ward, seeing the admissions nurse (swabs, BP, weight, height etc) followed by a chat to the ward sister - can I have an epidural block instead of a general - and a long discussion on recovery, then to see the OT who dealt with post-operative care - the height of my sofa at home will be a problem, as will getting my leg on in the morning. Then off to get some blood extracted where I wound up a 3rd year medical student (poor sod!) who actually did the needle work, then for an ECG (still pumping!) and finally X-Rays ... all in 2 hours 30 mins which was quite amazing ....