Play all audios:
The Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry heard evidence from a number of frontlines nurses and nursing leaders. Shaun Lintern recalls what some of them said: “It’s not just
being able to give tablets or put up drips or change dressings, it’s about being able to spend time with a patient – being able to listen to them, provide them reassurance, if they’re
anxious to be able to hold their hand. And that has gone from nursing, and that is not just at Stafford.” SANDRA BARRINGTON, A STAFF NURSE AND FORMER GOVERNOR AT STAFFORD HOSPITAL “A term I
frequently heard at the time was put up or shut up if you valued your job.” SUE ADAMS, NURSE AND RCN STEWARD AT MID STAFFS “There were parts of the hospital which really were providing a
very, very poor if not in some areas disgraceful standard of care.” PETER CARTER, RCN CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND GENERAL SECRETARY “It didn’t matter whether you were a nurse, a housekeeper, a
porter, you didn’t stick your head above the parapet.” KATH FOX, THE UNISON REPRESENTATIVE AT MID STAFFS “Sometimes it was just pure meanness and nastiness, targeted not just at staff but at
patients as well, which I think was the thing that shocked me the most. Having worked in other trusts – both before and since – it’s just something that I hadn’t experienced elsewhere.”
HELENE DONNELLY, AN A&E NURSE AND WHISTLEBLOWER, SAID SHE EXPERIENCED BULLYING AT MID STAFFS “Speak out, definitely. Not just because it’s your duty within your professional code, but it
should be your moral duty.” MS DONNELLY WAS ASKED BY ROBERT FRANCIS QC FOR HER ADVICE TO OTHER NURSES WITH CONCERNS “I have become increasingly concerned about how the nursing profession
generally is letting those that we care for down.” SIR STEPHEN MOSS, AN NHS NURSE FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS, WHO BECAME CHAIR OF MID STAFFS IN 2009 “The refrain [around the NHS] is often: are
we sure we’re not in a Mid Staffs situation.” FORMER CHIEF NURSING OFFICER FOR ENGLAND DAME CHRISTINE BEASLEY “When I trained, patients were passive recipients of care because that’s where
society was. Now patients are much, much more assertive and want care to be individualised to themselves.” FORMER CNO DAME CHRISTINE BEASLEY ON CHANGES IN PATIENT EXPECTATIONS