17/10/2007

Top Nurse Quits Over Bureaucracy

A woman who was named 'Nurse of the Year' has announced that she is quitting the NHS because of the government's reforms.

Justine Whitaker has announced that she is leaving East Lancashire NHS Primary Care Trust at the end of next month in order to become a lecturer in lymphoedema - the swelling of tissue - at the University of Central Lancashire.

The specialist clinical nurse said that she was quitting her job because of excessive bureaucracy caused by government reforms.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Whitaker said that she was in favour of change in the NHS, but said that the impact of the reforms was "grossly misunderstood" by the government.

Ms Whitaker was named as Nurse of the Year by Nursing Standard magazine after she invented a special pouch to help reduce painful swelling in patients who had received surgery for prostrate cancer.

(KMcA)


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