The nurse victimised for being a whistleblower: Trainee thrown out after exposing abuse at shamed hospital



Barbara Allatt was thrown off her training course after reporting the neglect of patients



A student nurse who exposed the appalling neglect of elderly patients at a hospital trust where up to 1,200 people died needlessly has been thrown off her training course.

Two years after the Stafford Hospital scandal, Barbara Allatt reported NHS colleagues for leaving patients in soiled sheets, shouting at dementia sufferers and secretly slipping sedatives into a cup of tea.

But the mature student was condemned for having an 'attitude problem' before being withdrawn from her nursing course at Staffordshire University last month.

Miss Allatt, 40, now plans to sue over a 'culture of bullying' during placements at Stafford Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital, both part of the crisis-hit Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust.

Her experiences come after a damning independent inquiry found the safety of sick and dying patients was 'routinely neglected', leading to between 400 and 1,200 unnecessary deaths at the trust between 2005 and

But no officials were disciplined and two years on hospital bosses have apparently failed to tackle the 'inhumane treatment' identified in the report.

Miss Allatt, from Cannock, said: 'The wards were heartbreaking. There were patients crying out for help but the staff would sit chatting.

'Some needed urgent pain relief or a change of sheets and others just needed a bit of reassurance, but they were ignored, shouted at or mocked with cruel names.

'Sick and elderly people were manhandled and abused.

'But when I complained my colleagues told me to mind my own business. They were so pally with each other that they shut me out and I felt helpless.'

Miss Allatt, a mother of one with a long-term partner, left her job as an occupational therapy technician to start a diploma in adult nursing in March last year.

She passed her exams and got glowing reports on placements in the community - but was disgusted by what she saw on hospital wards.

Over four months at Stafford and Cannock Chase hospitals between May 2009 and January this year, she recorded a catalogue of horrors.

Miss Allatt had been doing a training course at both Stafford Hospital, above, and the Cannock Chase hospital, when she witness the neglect



Miss Allatt repeatedly reported her concerns to her university tutors, hospital mentors and senior nurses, but she claims she was fobbed off or attacked for whistleblowing.

In January she was suspended for four weeks over her 'behaviour, attitude and fitness to practise'.

She was supported by the Royal College of Nursing, but lost two appeals against her suspension, and a fitness to practise panel permanently withdrew her place on the course last month.

Miss Allatt, who suffered stress and depression over her 2008 ordeal, is planning to sue the university for breaching the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which is designed to protect whistleblowers.

She will also take legal action against the trust for bullying, she said.

Now back at work as an occupational therapist, she said: 'I still feel horribly traumatised, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I have reported them and been an advocate for the patient.'







Julie Bailey, from the Cure the NHS campaign group set up for victims' families in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal, said: 'This is evidence that no lessons have been learnt.

'There are good nurses - Barbara is proof of that - but they are forced out by bullying and victimisation.

'Managers at the hospital and the university knew she was a conscientious student who wanted to uphold nursing standards and reject disturbing, illegal practices, but labelled her with an attitude problem.'

The Royal College of Nursing said it did not comment on individual cases, but in a statement prepared for an appeal hearing, a representative said: 'There is nothing . . . that would suggest anything other than Barbara being a knowledgeable, intelligent, enthusiastic student who performs well and questions appropriately.

'She was unfairly tagged as a troublemaker when she raised concerns on her first placement. This bad name followed her to her next placement.

'I would suggest collusion between several nurses, and that the decision has been made at some level that it is easier to remove Barbara from her training than pursue her allegations.'

Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust said an investigation into her complaints found them to be 'without foundation'.

A Staffordshire University spokesman said: 'Our nursing students get a lot of input about how to report any issues, and are supported to do so.'

The Daily Mail has consistently highlighted appalling treatment as part of our Dignity for the Elderly campaign.



fay.schlesinger@dailymail.co.uk

