I'm sorry to relate that Sister Sarah Kuteh has lost her
appeal in the case of her discharge from the Darent
Valley Hospital
in Kent , see
here for background: https://hpanwo-hpwa.blogspot.com/2016/12/nurse-sacked-for-praying.html.
After her dismissal in 2016 Mrs Kuteh appealed through the NHS trust system and
then initiated a lawsuit. The court heard that the intensive care sister
endured numerous complaints about her "religious preaching". One
patient described her behaviour as being "like a Monty Python skit".
Despite the fact that with full training and over fifteen years of experience,
she should have been an invaluable member of the hospital personnel, she was
sacked. I can't help wondering if she wasn't a Christian, would this aversion
be reduced? I recall from my own service that there is a wide variety of religious
opinions, including non-belief, in the NHS. Some people liked to speak openly
about their faith and others were more private. This sometimes included
discussions with patients. I myself had some amazing conversations with
patients about all kinds of subjects. The complaints made against Sister Kuteh
do not appear to be that serious. The worst thing anybody said is that her
actions were "very bizarre". Not "harmful" or
"abusive"; just "bizarre". That doesn't sound too bad to
me. What's more, the statement: "She spent more time talking about
religion than doing the assessment" is mere hyperbole. How long did she
spend on each? Did you time it? Give it to me in hours and minutes otherwise it
is meaningless and should not be submitted as evidence. In her defence, Mrs
Kuteh brought up human rights laws about religion that I discuss in the
background links below. Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7053709/NHS-nurse-offered-Bible-cancer-patient-LOSES-unfair-dismissal-appeal-tribunal.html. Actually, even if the court correctly interpreted the Nursing
and Midwifery Council regulations, the point hanging over this whole matter is
that the NHS is incredibly selective in what it chooses to react against. My
own case was similar to Sister Kuteh's except that it involved behaviour off
duty, yet I was spat out with all the urgency of a mouthful of hot lava. At the
same time, the health services shrug their shoulders at far more serious
matters, such as appallingly low standards of performance and conduct from
operatives. As I said before, my advice to anybody in the NHS is: DO NOT be
good at your job. That is unless you want a very short career. Not only will
they fail to respect you, they will hate you for it.
See here for
background: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/discrimination-against-christians-2.html.
I don’t consider myself Christian . When I trained as a mental health nurse we were issued with a personal,copy of a white Gideon bible. In a little organised class. Also we got a booklet about the main faiths including Wicca ! Told to respect the religious rights of each faith . I don’t think it’s wrong to offer comfort or empathy , but it would be wrong to preach to those not interested or seek to convert people in a vulnerable situation . I did work with one nurse who used the bible as protection against me when she was told I was lgbt ��️�� and thus possessed by deamons ,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Gordon. It depends what you mean by "preach". I certainly would not tolerate a member of staff who approached me with religious propaganda in an intimidating or humiliating way. However all Sr Kuteh is described as being is "bizarre". That word does not imply a foot-in-the-door fire and brimstone type. Like with your nursing colleague. The idea that another person is possessed by demons because of their private life is to me very bizarre. But did she harass you about the matter ? If not then she has also done nothing wrong. The NHS has yet to make its policy clear on this subject and is nasty in its selectivity over who it persecutes and why.
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