Rudeness-row nurse apologises
Medic says sorry to hard-working staff after comments cause ‘upset’
SCOTLAND’S chief nurse has apologised for causing “upset” to hard-working nurses and midwives after she wrote a message highlighting examples of rude practices by some staff on hospital wards.
Professor Fiona McQueen said she had never meant to cause offence, or worry patients, but had been trying to set out how nurses can get it right for “every patient, every time”. Her original comments, reported by The Herald yesterday, were contained in a New Year message.
In the online blog, she spoke of “outstanding nurses and midwives”, and said she had heard of examples of care being delivered that were “so good it’s breathtaking”.
But, drawing from examples over the last year, Prof McQueen also spoke of behaviour she would like to “banish to the history books”, such as one instance where a nurse warned a patient, “if you wet the bed we’ll call you ‘pishy pants’”.
Trade union Unison, which described the comments as “grossly unfair and really demoralising”, has written to Prof McQueen to express its members’ concerns over the message.
In a debate on BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams programme yesterday, Prof McQueen said: “Can I just start by saying how sorry I am that I have upset so many decent, hard-working nurses and midwives and their support staff all across the country. I at no time meant to cause offence or to cause upset to the profession or worry to patients. I’m justifiably proud of all the work that’s done within NHS Scotland by very hard-working nurses and midwives.”
Unison regional organiser Matt McLaughlin said he welcomed Prof McQueen’s “reflection and contrition”. Mr McLaughlin said there was a sense of “general disappointment that the most senior nurse in Scotland used a blog to make very sweeping statements about bad practice across the profession”.
However, Audrey Birt, who founded Breakthrough Breast Cancer Scotland and the Health and Social Care Alliance, praised the chief nurse for “calling out poor care”. Professor June Andrews, a registered nurse and director of the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University, said: “It feels odd that Unison, a champion of whistleblowing, should try to slap any nurse for being honest and open in public.”
Dr Jean Turner, former director of the Scotland Patients’ Association, said: “Very rarely do you get someone in such a high profile position who has the courage to speak out about these things. She’s only helping the good people who want to do a good job.”
A spokesman for the Royal College of Nursing Scotland said the vast majority of nurses “provide excellent care, day-in, day out”, but added: “We know there are instances of poor practice, which can undermine all the good work that is done by nursing staff across Scotland every day.”