Union bosses spend thousands in attempt to reinstate struck-off Stafford Hospital nurses
Union bosses have spent thousands battling to reinstate two nurses at the centre of the Mid Staffs NHS scandal who were struck off, it has emerged.
Sharon Turner, aged 44, and Tracy White, 47, falsified A&E discharge times at Stafford Hospital to avoid missing a government goal for patients to be dealt with within four hours. A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing ruled that White and Turner were guilty of misconduct and were told they had brought the profession into 'serious public disrepute'.
They were struck off in July.
But it has now emerged that the Royal College of Nursing may have spent up to £50,000 trying to get the decision reversed at the High Court.
It has been reported that the union paid lawyers to argue that the damning evidence against the nurses was just 'hearsay.'
A judge threw out the case in a one-day hearing earlier this month.
The union, which is funded by nurses' subscription fees, has refused to say how much it spent on the case but legal experts estimate it would have cost between £10,000 and £50,000.
Families who lost loved ones at Mid Staffs are now demanding to know why money has been spent trying to reinstate the pair.
Stephen Redmond, who chaired the initial hearing at the Old Bailey, told the two nurses that they had failed to put patients and their care first.
Julie Bailey, who set up campaign group Cure the NHS after her mother died at Stafford Hospital said: "I think the public would be horrified to know what is going on."
A spokesman for the union, which has about 410,000 UK members who pay annual fees of up to £200, said: "In this instance, we felt it was fair and appropriate to represent the defendants in their High Court appeal due to anonymous hearsay evidence having been submitted at the NMC hearing."
