Undercover film nurse wins award

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Margaret Haywood said she still believed she was right to blow the whistle

A nurse who was initially struck off after secretly filming elderly patients being neglected at a Sussex hospital has won a national nursing accolade.

Margaret Haywood, 58, from Liverpool, received the Nursing Standard's Patient's Choice Award on Monday.

She was struck off after being found guilty of misconduct at a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary hearing.

The order was replaced with a one-year caution after the High Court approved a settlement between both parties.

Ms Haywood beat four other finalists to the people's choice award, which was presented at a ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel, central London.

We're delighted for Margaret, who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of patients Jean Gray

Jennifer Price, of East Grinstead, said she nominated Ms Haywood for the prize because she "felt so strongly about standards of care she put her job on the line".

Nursing Standard's editor-in-chief, Jean Gray, said: "The public has demonstrated its clear support for Margaret, by voting for her to win this award. "We're delighted for Margaret, who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of patients."

Ms Haywood secretly filmed at the Royal Sussex Hospital for a BBC Panorama programme which was broadcast in July 2005.

Footage showed examples of neglect, including an elderly patient sitting in clothes he had soiled the night before.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found her guilty of misconduct during a fitness to practise hearing and she appealed in May.

Following the settlement between the two parties in October, the NMC said it was developing guidance on how nurses and midwives should raise and escalate concerns.

Lin Graham-Ray, a child health nurse in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, was named as nurse of the year at the awards.

Almie Mngadi, of West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth, west London, who manages an acute respiratory unit, won the ward manager of the year accolade.