AN NHS nurse has called out a Tory MP’s “disgraceful behaviour” after they selectively edited a video of her speaking on the BBC’s Question Time “to fit their own agenda”.
Ukip-candidate turned Conservative MP Mark Jenkinson had used a clip of nurse and campaigner Holly Turner to claim that the NHS had been more understaffed under the Labour government than it is now.
Jenkinson shared a brief clip of Turner speaking on Twitter/X. She said: “I've worked in the NHS for almost 20 years. I did shifts nearly 15 years ago that were 27 hours long, because there was no nurses to take over because we were so short staffed.
“Now, that was nearly 15 years ago…”
You need to delete this. Do not edit and twist my words and story to fit your own agenda. Things were bad then, but they are much worse now. Disgraceful behaviour. https://t.co/BAzFt7BL4Y
— Holly (@SocialistHB) September 26, 2023
The clip shared by the Tory MP ends there, and he added: “This nurse on @bbcquestiontime was clear that the NHS was much more short-staffed back in 2008, at the tail-end of a Labour government, than it is today.”
But Turner, a co-founder of the campaigner group NHS Workers Say No!, accused Jenkinson of having twisted her words and called on him to delete his post.
She wrote: “You need to delete this. Do not edit and twist my words and story to fit your own agenda.
“Things were bad then, but they are much worse now.
“Disgraceful behaviour.”
Many others condemned Jenkinson for twisting the words, with one user writing: “I take it you've seen the reply [from Turner]?
“If it is a genuine misunderstanding, you'll delete the post. If you don't delete, then you're lying intentionally. Your call.”
Turner’s full contribution on the Question Time broadcast from September 21 was much longer than Jenkinson shared.
She had said: “I would say, we welcome the government saying we want minimal staffing, but we want minimal staffing every single day of the week.
“I've worked in the NHS for almost 20 years. I did shifts nearly 15 years ago that were 27 hours long, because there was no nurses to take over because we were so short staffed.
“Now, that was nearly 15 years ago, and here we are now with the government talking about minimal service levels. Frankly, that is an insult to us.”
And beforehand, Turner (above) had told the Question Time panel: “I'm a nurse. I voted to strike in the last ballot. When I'm balloted again, I will vote to strike again, and I'll do that continually until pay talks open and they're realistic.
“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. We've got seven million people on waiting lists, we’ve got 140,000 vacancies.
“People are dying on waiting lists. People are dying in the back of ambulances and this cannot go on. The government need to get real and address the situation.”
The NHS in England is currently facing significant strike action, saying earlier in September: “We are now entering the tenth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances.”
In Scotland, NHS strikes have been averted after negotiations between trade unions and government.
Jenkinson won his Workington seat for the Conservatives in 2019 during the fall of the "Red Wall", after previously trying to win the seat for Ukip. He has been asked for comment.
