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A nurse has been struck off the register with immediate effect after secretly filming for a BBC Panorama programme exposing neglect of elderly patients in a hospital.
Margaret Haywood, 58, of Liverpool, recorded appalling conditions at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton for a BBC documentary screened in July 2005.
There were gasps of disbelief and Ms Haywood broke down in tears when told she had been found guilty of misconduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
She had told the hearing in central London: "I was convinced that it was the right thing to do at the time as, in fact, I had reported the issues and nothing had been done. I felt I owed it to the people on the ward."
Ms Haywood wept as she was struck off and was too upset to speak after the hearing.
The panel said that, given the seriousness of her misconduct, "it would not be in the public interest for her to be able to practise as a nurse".
Linda Read, chair of the tribunal, said: "In the view of the panel, this was a major breach of the code of conduct. A patient should be able to trust a nurse with his/her physical condition and psychological wellbeing without that confidential information being disclosed to others.
"Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen. The panel is of the view that the misconduct found is fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse. "
Dr Karen Johnson, representing Ms Haywood, told the tribunal that the documentary had an "immense" impact.
She said: "It is through programmes like Panorama that awareness is raised. The results were local and throughout the country, and there has since been an ongoing campaign to improve the conditions. She was an exceedingly good nurse who always put patients first and filming second."
Margaret Haywood, 58, of Liverpool, recorded appalling conditions at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton for a BBC documentary screened in July 2005.
There were gasps of disbelief and Ms Haywood broke down in tears when told she had been found guilty of misconduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
She had told the hearing in central London: "I was convinced that it was the right thing to do at the time as, in fact, I had reported the issues and nothing had been done. I felt I owed it to the people on the ward."
Ms Haywood wept as she was struck off and was too upset to speak after the hearing.
The panel said that, given the seriousness of her misconduct, "it would not be in the public interest for her to be able to practise as a nurse".
Linda Read, chair of the tribunal, said: "In the view of the panel, this was a major breach of the code of conduct. A patient should be able to trust a nurse with his/her physical condition and psychological wellbeing without that confidential information being disclosed to others.
"Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen. The panel is of the view that the misconduct found is fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse. "
Dr Karen Johnson, representing Ms Haywood, told the tribunal that the documentary had an "immense" impact.
She said: "It is through programmes like Panorama that awareness is raised. The results were local and throughout the country, and there has since been an ongoing campaign to improve the conditions. She was an exceedingly good nurse who always put patients first and filming second."
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