Bullying midwife sacked for calling pregnant women 'Whales on a bed' and 'Bloaters'.

[Saphire]

A head midwife was sacked after she referred to overweight women as 'bloaters' and 'whales on a bed', an employment tribunal heard. 'Bully' Jennifer Stillman created an 'awful atmosphere' on the ward as she also made derogatory comments about her fellow staff, the panel heard.

Student midwives almost felt driven to leave the profession altogether after working under her, with one being reduced to tears, the panel heard.

The junior staff then made a complaint and Mrs Stillman was sacked for gross misconduct. She tried to sue the hospital but the tribunal has now ruled it had been right to fire her.

 

[Saphire]

What makes these strident bullies think they have the right to belittle their patients and staff....and then complain when they are brought to book?

Good riddance.

 

[Saphire]

But it was just ‘satire’ and ‘banter’.

Well, she says she only used those terms towards really fat women, so I suppose she had a point??

 

[Saphire]

I cant wait to see what this angel of mercy looks like.
No doubt pics will be forthcoming in tomorrows papers.

 

[Saphire]

I am not soft, it takes a lot to bring me down.
But....I remember how incredibly vulnerable I felt when I was in the maternity ward.
Many women are young, unsure, a bit scared, and a nasty word or atmosphere could easily taint that very special time in a womans life.

She sounds horrible...bullies dont belong in that environment.

 

[AGirlHasNoName]

Its mindsets like that which create bad patient care, when you're caring for a woman and baby then fat skinny black white catholic or buddist none of it should matter, you're there to make sure mum and baby are well cared for and alive.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

I suspect bullying in the NHS is more rife than you would imagine. I knew one ward sister who wouldn't have overweight nurses on her ward. The bullying wasn't even subtle, raising her voice to them, not giving them the shifts they wanted... Apparently, 'fat nurses are unhealthy and they give the wrong impression to the patients' was her mantra. This is the same ward sister who was best friends with a staff nurse who spent so much time on her phone, she brought her charger in with her

 

[Saphire]

To be fair she also ‘joked’ about putting a pillow over a patients face. I think that alone would be one step too far in a hospital.

I agree, it’s certainly not the place for jokes at the expense of the patients.

She is a real 'Joker' isn't she?
Personally, I think she should pay back any costs she has incurred the NHS when she tried to fight her dismissal.

 

[Saphire]

I suspect bullying in the NHS is more rife than you would imagine. I knew one ward sister who wouldn't have overweight nurses on her ward. The bullying wasn't even subtle, raising her voice to them, not giving them the shifts they wanted... Apparently, 'fat nurses are unhealthy and they give the wrong impression to the patients' was her mantra. This is the same ward sister who was best friends with a staff nurse who spent so much time on her phone, she brought her charger in with her

I applaud the junior staff who openly made the complaint.
It can't always be easy to stand up to seniors, especially when they support one another, and bullies often do gather a support network around them, it's how they flourish.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

Some nurses are bitches. They all get painted as angels but like nuns, there's some right bastards.

 

[hell2bwith76]

To be fair i`ve been an inmate several times over the past 3 years and all the Nurses and orderlies (?) have been wonderful in my opinion.
10 out of 10 for the Paramedics ! they have been fantastic to me on the journey, specially when they put the flashing lights and siren on .

 

[Moriarty]

Well damn, we all better stop looking at each other and making comments.

I mean really, it's getting out of hand.

Who is the sexiest man/women/other in peoples opinions?
Who is the Fattest?
Who has the best body?
Who has the biggest nose?

I mean if we are going to label people fat and get sacked for it, shouldnt we also get sacked for saying "Insert person here" is beuatiful?

Or is the problem that some charactoristics are seen as deregatory?

I seem to remember models losing work because they are "To Thin".

Yeah I bet they hated being called thin, when times changed and it cost them thier livelihood.

Or when Pit Girls were dropped in motorsports, yeah sorry, your out of a job because your seen as sexual.
Bet they we happy they were to beautiful to have a job.

If someone calls you fat and you dont like it, its a you problem.

I'll await the hate

 

[Moriarty]

I take your point but the words used were intended as an insult. The nurse in question was deliberately using certain words to cause offence and no matter the words chosen when offence is the sole intention, particularly in the workplace, it should rightly be dealt with, surely?

Oh come on Pandemic.

You missed a beat here.

They should have sent her to one of the Political Correctness lectures everyone values so much.

Maybe she is just an asshole, maybe she has psychological problems with her own self image, maybe she just speaks the truth without thought.

There are a myriad of avenues open to possibly help her, but no, they just hang her out to dry because she isnt "Nice".

 

[Moriarty]

Just because someone did a Monty Python thread.

 

[Saphire]

Oh come on Pandemic.

You missed a beat here.

They should have sent her to one of the Political Correctness lectures everyone values so much.

Maybe she is just an asshole, maybe she has psychological problems with her own self image, maybe she just speaks the truth without thought.

There are a myriad of avenues open to possibly help her, but no, they just hang her out to dry because she isnt "Nice".

She was sacked because of her repeated unacceptable behaviour.
Whether she is nice or not (she obviously isn't) wasn't the issue.