Tuesday, June 02, 2015

"Filipino nurses call for apology"

See my previous post here and this report was in the UNISON national efocus newsletter today.

"Demanding an apology

Filipino nurses - including many UNISON members - protested outside the offices of the Daily Mail at the weekend to demand an apology over its Why are the NHS still hiring Filipino nurses? article in the wake of the Victoriano Chua murder conviction.

He was convicted of murdering two patients and poisoning 18 others, and the demonstration sent "deepest condolences and prayers to the families of the victims."

But the 250-strong crowd was equally clear that the action of one criminal should not be used to target everyone who happens to share the same nationality.

Filipino nurses are highly trained and their employment helps the UK overcome a shortage of 20,000 nurses.

UNSION estimates that the NHS saves £300m a year in agency nursing fees by directly employing Filipino nurses.

The union's London nursing officer, Michael Walker, said: "We condemn poor care wherever it is to be found, regardless of the ethnic origins of the nurse concerned, and we support the highest standards of monitoring and validation of skills.

"Evil people don't just exist amongst people of a different country to our own.

"Nurse Beverley Allitt and Dr Harold Shipman proved that evil people are to be found among all groups and all professions."

And he added: "Filipino nurses have a great reputation among their colleagues for their quality of care and dedication, and to demonise all Filipino nurses for the actions of one evil man is unfair and unacceptable.

"We would urge the Daily Mail to print an article addressing the important role overseas nurses play in the UK over the decades play in UK in both the NHS and private nursing home sector."

UNISON in healthcare

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