Play all audios:
Do you agree with our choice for this month’s hero and villain? Welcome to our slightly tongue-in-cheek section called Heroes and Villains. Heroes and Villains Each month, we take a
generally light-hearted look at who have been the stand-out “goodies” and the “baddies” for nursing and healthcare over the last few weeks. Let us know if you agree with our choices for July
and if you have any suggestions for next month (without being unnecessarily rude, please). HEROES: Michael Eavis Source: Justinc Michael Eavis Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis has
announced that up to 500 free tickets for next year’s festival are to be given to local student nurses, in response to the nursing recruitment crisis. He revealed the offer at Shepton
Mallet’s hospital fete in July after the chair of Somerset Foundation Trust told him that there was “a real problem with the lack of nurses being trained now”. As a result, Mr Eavis decided
that up to 500 student nurses could visit the 2019 festival for free, rather than pay around £240 for a ticket. The offer is open to anyone who lives in the Mendip area and who enrolled in a
nursing course in 2018. A very nice gesture but how will it solve the workforce shortage? VILLAINS: Mick Armstrong Mick Armstrong Mick Armstrong, chair of the British Dental Association,
has accused homeless people of being “no-hopers” and suggested it was sometimes acceptable to deny them treatment. In leaked emails seen by The Guardian, Mr Armstrong said many dentist were
wary of taking on homeless patients. “These are difficult patients who rarely complete a course of treatment and attend irregularly if at all,” he wrote to a colleague. “If we took in all
the no-hopers who ring us… I suspect we’d miss our targets by a country mile.” Mr Armstrong subsequently told the paper he regretted his choice of words.