Nurse’s anger at Tory MP for ‘twisting my words to fit your agenda’
Posted 27 September 2023 - 14:10
Holly Turner criticises Tory MP Mark Jenkinson for twisting her words on BBC’s Question Time, to give impression she thought short-staffing was worse previously
A nurse has accused a Conservative MP of ‘twisting’ her words in a social media post after he edited a clip of her criticising the government’s handling of the NHS.
Child and adolescent mental health service nurse Holly Turner was describing the state of the health service on BBC’s Question Time last week in response to a discussion about ongoing strike action. She said that although the NHS was short-staffed under the Labour government 15 years ago, things were even worse today.
‘We’re also striking for patient safety’
Ms Turner told Nursing Standard: ‘I certainly wasn’t saying what he said I was. I’ve worked in the NHS under a Labour and a Conservative government. The point I was trying to get across was when I first started in the NHS, things were very, very bad, but they actually took a fairly hard downward turn once the Conservatives took power.
‘Instead of editing a working-class woman’s words to try and fit [Mr Jenkinson's] own narrative, it might be nice for him to go out into his constituency and actually speak to some healthcare workers about the crisis. Visit them on wards or even picket lines to find out why they’re striking.’
She added: ‘I’ve worked in the NHS for almost 20 years, I did shifts 15 years ago that were 27 hours long because there were no nurses to take over because we were so short-staffed. That was nearly 15 years ago and here we are now with the government talking about minimum service levels. Frankly, that is an insult to us all.’
Ms Turner explained that she had voted for strike action and will continue to support it to improve working conditions and patient safety. ‘We are striking for pay, we are striking because we feel undervalued, but we’re also striking for patient safety so when we’re accused of putting patients at risk I say patients are at risk every single day of the week,’ she added.
MP edited nurse’s words
Ms Turner’s comments on minimum service levels refer to contentious new regulations under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which give ministers the power to impose minimum levels of service during industrial action. Under the regulations, employees could face disciplinary action or even dismissal if they refuse to comply with a work notice while on the picket line.
MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson shared part of the clip on X, formerly known as Twitter, but edited it to make it appear Ms Turner was suggesting the NHS was significantly more short-staffed in 2008 while Labour was in power than it is today.
Ms Turner labelled Mr Jenkinson’s behaviour ‘disgraceful’ and asked him to delete his post as it misrepresented what she said:
Nurses come out in support of Ms Turner
Several nurses, including RCN England director Patricia Marquis, criticised Mr Jenkinson for misrepresenting Ms Turner’s point. They called on him to apologise.
Mr Jenkinson’s office has been contacted for comment.
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