On BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, presenter Victoria Darbyshire interviewed two Stafford A&E nurses, Heather Gough and Mark Saville. The nurses gave an impassioned account of their experiences at the hospital and of its misrepresentation in the media following the leak of the now thoroughly-discredited mortality figures that bore no relation to reality.
The interview was moving and powerful. For the next week or so, you can listen to it here if you wish.
One of the most moving sections was as Ms Gough spoke of the experience of a number of nurses, who were abused, insulted and spat upon in the street because of their persistent demonisation by the media and by the self-proclaimed “patients’ group” Cure the NHS (Cure).
I’ve demonstrated a number of times on this blog how Cure is anything but the well-intentioned group it is made out to be in the media, and how it responds viciously to any dissent or contradiction.
This was demonstrated amply again today – as Julie Bailey, the group’s founder, complained to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the professional standards body for nurses and midwives, in an attempt to bring censure and disciplinary action on Ms Gough. I don’t know whether she also complained about Mr Saville, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Ms Bailey referred to this in a tweet today:
Ms Bailey, who just a couple of days ago was trying to court Ms Gough on Twitter and to recruit her as a helper, was so outraged that Ms Gough spoke out about her experience on national radio.
Ironic that someone who is supposedly a staunch supporter of whistleblowers should be so outraged by someone’s candidness to the media that she is trying to get the nurse’s professional body to sanction a hard-working, dedicated nurse.
Fortunately, Ms Gough tells me that she has spoken to the NMC and that, as far as they’re concerned, the matter is of no interest to them unless it affects her fitness to practice – which it plainly doesn’t.
Ms Bailey is currently packing and preparing to leave Stafford – not ‘driven out’, as she has claimed, but to go for a holiday in Portugal before moving to Dubai to be with her grandchild, a move which she has been planning for over 18 months according to sources close to her:
The national media may continue to treat Ms Bailey and Cure as if the proverbial butter wouldn’t melt. But a closer, objective look at her behaviour tells a very different story. Thankfully for Ms Gough and anyone who cares about justice, she appears to have been unsuccessful in her mean and vindictive move today.
Reblogged this on this 'n that.
So in other words, JB, what you’re actually saying is that because you can’t use Heather against the NHS, because Heather wants our much improved hospital to stay, because she has a mind of her own and wont follow aimlessly like your other supporters you don’t want to know her and you’re apology the other night to her stood for nothing.
What a surprise! I won’t say we told Heather so …. but we did.
The truth is slowly starting to come out and not a moment too soon – thanks to the courage of people like Heather and Mark. Thank you for your support in making everyone aware of the continued attacks upon our nurses.
Steve, yet again she has been on the news this morning spouting her evil.., saying ” she is being victimised by a hate campaign against her, that she has had dog poo posted through her letterbox etc and that her mothers grave has been vandalised!
Do we actually know that this is not true?
Wouldn’t you complain to the police, council etc if it was? Yet no complaint was made until well after it found its way into the media, and only after people started asking whether there had been any formal complaint. Local police say no evidence of abuse at the shop etc either.
She found an extra 200 bodies from somewhere this morning, plucked out of the air just like that that isn’t true either!
Steve,
Well yes, I would. But it seems bizarre to make such claims if they are not true, it would surely be too easy to disprove. Speaking as an outsider the whole situation just seems really strange.
Strange is the word. But there appears to be no evidence at all for any of it – just a lot of abuse for anyone who dares question.
Ermm forgive me here but didn’t that tweet on the 25th say she was leaving for Portugal at 6am today the 26th…..Mmmmm she was on ITV Daybreak at just after 8am…somewhere in Derbyshire??? Heather should be commended for speaking out not demonised.
Nice interview with some dedicated nurses who didn’t walk away. Mr Cameron and Mr Hunt should be strapped to chairs and made to listen to this 5 times!
But there’s a problem. The hospital has had to spend a bit more while recovering and a considerable amount of this is unique to Stafford. Hence a financial “problem” which has been jumped on before Francis had even finally reported – and has led to the Trust being put into administration (whatever that means in the public services) – which in turn will led to some sort of downgrading of some or possibly all services for this long-suffering population (50,000 of whom, no less, came out in support of the hospital at the first opportunity).
Why are tens of thousands of people so powerless?
Powerless not…….we work ourselves unlike Bailey who has a politican’s hand up her jumper………organ grinder and monkey spring to mind!
As Heather said in the interview..”Those who shout the loudest are believed”. My view is that some of CTNHS should be investigated
Yes. Posting people’s names, addresses and phone nos is an invitation to harassment and even hate crimes.
Yes, this Mr Edwards’ actions seem criminal to me.
Too right Chris Baron they should be investigated!
It’s going to take a true journalist with a gutsy editor to start challenging and unpicking the Cure lies. Drinking from vases that have been banned for years in hospitals is a real porker. That’s just one example. Does anyone fund/donate to Cure? That’s got me intrigued. Loads for a true Journal to get stuck into.
well someone lent me “the book”, I refused to pay for it. To be honest, after my experience at the hospital in 2008 I can pull it to pieces. Was on ward 11 for 5 weeks so saw what happened. Excellent care
This no doubt is why she could not find a publisher for it. It is atrociously written to boot.
Once a narrative has been established in the media, the re-cycling rate is so huge it takes on it’s own momentum. Hard to reverse (eg this week’s local Express and Star, leader on “very sorry JB has been hounded out of town, unacceptable etc”, likely reasons for her leaving a, b, c ….. (could be untrue but unlikely to have been investigated).
I see JB has been denying reporting Heather to the NMC – curious.
The mere idea that Ms Bailey could report Heather Gough to the NMC is utterly ridiculous. Nothing seems to have come from it, which I am extremely glad about. I had the honour of working with Heather for seven years in A&E at Stafford Hospital, and a more dedicated, caring and hard-working nurse would be difficult to find.
I’ve never liked Julie Bailey as it was clear she was trying to demonise the hospital and its staff from the outset with exaggerated and embellished statements – aided by the local and national media. I now realise just what a despicably two-faced, vile and hypocritical person she is.