RUDE and grudging nursing practices on Scottish hospital wards have been exposed by the country’s chief nurse in a message which has offended some frontline staff.

In a hard-hitting blog, Professor Fiona McQueen describes encounters with unwilling or unfriendly nurses over the course of last year including one who warned a patient “if you wet the bed we’ll call you pishy pants”.

The narrative, which also describes nurses “skipping off for a break” when relatives need to speak to them, takes the form of a New Year message and was circulated to all staff in NHS Ayrshire and Arran - where Professor McQueen was previously a nursing manager.

Herald View: A dose of tough love 

Professor McQueen wrote: “I have met some outstanding nurses and midwives and hear of examples of care being delivered that is so good it’s breathtaking.”

However, she also draws on her experience during her first year as Chief Nursing Officer to describe behaviour she would like to “banish to the history books”.

She says: “I expect registered nurses to speak to all patients and their families with unconditional positive regard, and never again will a registered nurse say to a patient…. ‘if you wet the bed we’ll call you pishy pants.’

“At all times I want nurses and midwives to put their patients first. No skipping off for a break when relatives need to speak to you, or worse when patients should be having their meals served.”

In the text, Professor McQueen appears to refer to visiting her own niece on a maternity ward and asking staff if she could wait for the baby to have a blood test. She says it would be nice, on such an occasion, if “the midwife wouldn’t draw her eyes to the clock and grudgingly say ‘yes’ then remove my niece’s baby without a word of explanation...”

The blog so angered frontline staff in the region trade union Unison has sent a formal letter of complaint to Professor McQueen on their behalf demanding an apology.

Gordon McKay, a registered nurse and chair of Unision in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “I am both saddened and disappointed by the comments from Scotland’s most senior nurse. My experience is that nurses work unpaid, way beyond their contracted hours to provide world class care rather than “nipping off for breaks” as is claimed and that nurses speak to patients and relatives with the greatest of respect and kindness rather that the way Mrs McQueen suggests.”

Professor June Andrews, a registered nurse and director of the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University, said the CNO’s blog had her full support.

She said: “As a hard working nurse, knowing that other nurses and midwives who not for want of resources but because of attitude bring down the profession, I would be glad to have them outed.”

She said her own mother had received wonderful nursing care in Ayrshire, but added: “I know that everywhere there are people who have bad days and there are people who should be in a different job. This (blog) is visionary.”

Professor McQueen also used the message to talk about ensuring safe nursing levels on wards. She said there could be no “sacred cows” as ways of working change, but staff must have confidence new systems are safe.

She concludes by asking nurses to communicate with her and invite her to their area.

In their letter of complaint, Unison said: “Of course bad practice must be rectified, but there are well tried and trusted methods of achieving this... At the same time, despite deep cuts, short staffing and a political imperative to work nurses harder public confidence in nurses and in the NHS remains high, we would argue that this is achieved on the back of our members and is mostly down to the professionalism and commitment that they show day on day.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Chief Nurse is immensely proud of all the work done by nurses across NHS Scotland. The care they provide every day is second to none.

“But the chief nurse is also passionate about getting it right for every patient, every time. Of course, these examples were reflective of exceptional cases where treatment fell below what we demand, rather than generalisations. It is regrettable if anyone has interpreted them differently. However, this reflects what we all want – treatment with dignity and the upmost professionalism for every single patient, every single time.”

She added that Professor McQueen would consider the letter carefully and respond, adding: “We highly value our relations with trade unions and wouldn’t want them to be damaged through the misinterpretation of a blog. The Chief Nurse’s door is always open and she would also be happy to discuss any of the issues Unison raise.”