Nurse Margaret Haywood was at the centre of one of the UK’s most prominent cases of ‘whistleblowing’

when she helped the Panorama BBC TV programme expose serious failings in the care of the elderly at one NHS hospital.

Her concern was that nursing basics were being ignored such as pain control, toileting and even ensuring some terminally ill elderly patients were getting enough to eat and drink.

She failed to get her concerns addressed through normal ‘internal means’ – she voiced her concerns through her immediate line manager ‘but nothing was really taken on board’. After this she agreed to go public, helping the BBC TV programme feature the conditions leading to attempts to have her struck off the nursing register ever since.

She had hoped for some protection from government legislation. A Department of Health spokesperson said:

Whistle­blowers already have full protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act passed by this Government.

We expect that any member of staff who reports concerns about the safety or quality of care to be listened to by their managers and action taken to address their concerns.

Despite this, she was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council which said she failed to ‘follow her obligations as a nurse’. This initially led to a war of words with a spokesperson for the Nursing and Midwifery Council saying in an email response:

Margaret Haywood was struck from the register because she failed to gain the consent of the patients prior to secretly filming them and not, as reported by some media, for whistle blowing.

A patient should be able to trust a nurse with his/

her physical condition and psychological wellbeing without that confidential information being disclosed to others....................

Questions 1 Do whistle­blowers act ethically?
2 On what ethical basis can a whistle­blower justify his or her actions?
3 Was Margaret Haywood acting ethically in assisting Panorama?
4 Is it possible to say that the Royal College of Nursing and the Nursing and Midwifery Council were acting ethically in striking her off?