Moral panic and Puritanism in the NHS?

Moral panic and Puritanism in the NHS?

There are times when it seems that there is something different about the aftermath of Mid Staffs. Other scandals have emphasized the variability of quality of care in the NHS and the failings of individual units, but there has been a heavy whiff of moral panic over the last year - politicians proclaiming a problem of "lack of compassion" in the NHS, campaigners shouting "murderer" at the then Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, and a move to criminalise "wilful neglect".

Now Shaun Lintern, junior healthcare journalist for a nursing magazine, is questioning the RCN funding the appeal of two nurses who had been working at Mid Staffs who were struck off  by the NMC, in its capacity as a union. This seems a very Puritanical and vindictive line of argument, probably explained by Shaun's close link to the Cure the NHS campaign. All unions are there to represent their members, and presumably the appeal had some merit. The RCN is no more "supporting poor care" than criminal defence lawyers are supporting crime. By the logic of @MsNaughtycheese she would not want to be represented if she ever made a mistake, as that would be "supporting poor care".  No union has to "fight for people patently unsuitable for the job" - representation does not entail arguing for the absurd.

Puritans fail to accept human frailty, and they just have to hope they get the mercy they refuse others if they ever make a mistake. It is part of the essence of moral panic to focus on a small group, the "other", who are then "dealt with" to root out the problem. This witch hunt is not a helpful strategy to transform the NHS culture, and leaves a decidedly nasty taste in the mouth.

The 'Cheers Hunt'/Cure the NHS campaign have said they do not want simple human error to be punished, but they don't seem to respect the labour rights of nurses - and without union representation nurses will be punished for simple human error. Julie Bailey's book 'From Ward to Whitehall' is a quite awful torrent of abuse, and her attitude towards the nursing profession is questionable. Also, without unions nurses are vulnerable to being punished by their employers for whistleblowing. So the RCN and other unions need to continue to represent their members, and resist the attempts of campaigners associated with 'Cheers Hunt' to bully them into passivity.