Dated 5th February 2009
A Healthcare trust has accused a Christian nurse it suspended for offering to pray for a patient of being more committed to her faith than to her work.
Caroline Petrie, a fully-qualified and registered community nurse, had just finished changing a dressing for an elderly patient when she asked in passing if the lady would like her to pray for her.
The patient declined, but when Mrs Petrie mentioned her offer of prayer to a colleague, her work-mate grassed her to management. She was suspended for the following thought-crime offences:
'Failing to demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity' and 'Using professional status to promote causes that are not related to health.'
Her employer, North Somerset Primary Care Trust, is now deciding whether Mrs Petire should be sacked. But now, in a new statement issued today on its WEBSITE, the Trust says:
'There are grounds for wondering whether the nurse’s sincere faith convictions about the efficacy of intercessory prayer are more strongly held than her commitment to a pattern of practice consistent with her professional role.'
The statement is not signed or authored, but responsibility for such a disgraceful slur has to rest with the Trust's Chief Executive Chris Born. Mr Born has been busy making podcasts for the Trust's website. No doubt every sentiment expressed is directly related to health.
In another extraordinary development, Christian Voice has discovered that North Somerset Primary Care Trust is a client of a consultancy which specialises in training local government bodies in how to enforce equality and diversity.
If we had not wrongly put 'healthcare' instead of 'care' between 'primary' and 'trust' and put double-inverted commas around the expression, and if Gem Consultancy had not also wrongly identified their client, the link would not have come to light. So praise the Lord for using our mistake to bring this relationship into the light.
Bristol-based Gem Consulting is run by founding partners Penny Gane, who likes inclusive partnerships, equality, diversity and sustainable development and Diane Bunyan, a feminist agitator who specialises in equality, diversity and social cohesion and advised the Equal Opportunities Commission on how Local Authorities should implement something called 'Gender Equality Duty'. It lists 29 organisations, overwhelmingly in local govcernment, as clients.
Ms Bunyan was Labour Party leader of Bristol Council before losing her seat in May 2003, and said she was looking forward to spending more time with her family. But families are irksome things, and by December 2003, she and Penny Gane had Gem Consulting up and running with using their 'practical experience, skills and techniques to help organisations change deeply ingrained cultures and attitudes and make equality and diversity part of everyday work.'
Christianity is obviously one of those deeply ingrained cultures which obstruct equality and diversity in modern British health trusts, but ironically, if it were not for the Christian faith, with its attitude of caring for the sick, there would be precious little health care in Britain today. Almost every hospital within our shores was founded out of Christian convictions.
Gem is onloy the tip of the iceberg. The Association of Equality and Diversity practitioners represents over 200 equality and diversity consultants. God willing, there will be more on both the diversity industry and on the Christian foundations of the NHS in the February Christian Voice.
To express support for Caroline Petrie:
