Whistleblower was 'sacked' over ill-health

A special school nurse who blew the whiste on her employers over an alleged "do not resuscitate" policy was dismissed because of poor health, an employment tribunal has been told.

Bernice 'Bunny' Pinnington, from Gowerton, Swansea, claims she was dismissed from Ysgol Crug Glas special school after warning the grandparents of a terminally-ill pupil about the alleged policy.

Bunny Pinnington at an earlier hearing in Cardiff

Mrs Pinnington applied to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in London over claims she had been unfairly dismissed from the Ysgol Crug Glas special school in Swansea in 1999.

It was claimed she had alerted the grandparents of a child at the school about an alleged resuscitation "delay" order concerning their five-year-old granddaughter in 1998.

It is claimed the notice stated Mrs Pinnington should not use any form of emergency intervention for a period of up to three minutes.

Mrs Pinnington objected to any delay in an emergency, saying it could prove fatal - she was later dismissed from her post.

At the hearing on Friday, evidence was given by Ann Cartwright, chair of the governors' sub committee convened to discuss whether Bunny Pinnington could return to school.

'Line of fire'

Mrs Cartwright told the hearing: "I had a good relationship with her, I saw her as a friend and an approachable person at school.

"I was surprised that she didn't come to me about her concerns regarding a do not resuscitate policy - my own child would have been in the line of fire."

Ysgol Crug Glas: Dismissal claim

Later, she said it was right that Mrs Pinnington should air any concerns she had about the children.

Earlier in the hearing, Mrs Pinnington's solicitor claimed the dismissal was unfair and was a breach of the laws that protect whistleblowers.

The tribunal was told Mrs Pinnington had been victimised and was a victim of malpractice and her dismissal had made her distressed and ill.

People's view of her had changed, the panel heard.

Earlier this year, Mrs Pinnington won an appeal against Swansea education authority allowing her to go ahead to a full tribunal hearing.

At the Employment Appeals Tribunal in London, it was heard that the school had dismissed Mrs Pinnington because she had been absent through ill- health.

The earlier tribunal decided that she had not been dismissed in July 1999 as she claimed but in October 1999, as the school and the council maintained.

Ruling overturned

As a result, she had acted "prematurely" by making her application for a tribunal in August 1999.

A second review tribunal last year upheld the findings, Mr Green said.

The appeals tribunal overturned previous rulings and sent the case back to a full tribunal in Cardiff.

The panel decided there was a "compelling argument" that the initial tribunal chairman mad a "manifest error of approach".