Nurse says she was sacked for saying Tories 'don't deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS'

An NHS registered nurse who faced criticism for saying Tory voters "don't deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS" on live TV has said she has been sacked.

Miranda Hughes told reporters the company she now works for looks set to let her go after she made the comment live on Channel 5's Britain on The Brink during a debate with Jeremy Vine on Monday.

Asked by the presenter about how the NHS "broke her", Hughes, 46, said: "I could not handle the emotional stress of not being able to deliver for my patients. When you sign up to be a nurse, you sign up to put the patient at the forefront of everything you do.

"You are squeezed to a point where you cannot treat people the way you want to treat them. And it eats you up. You’re told persistently on the news that care homes are being ring fenced. It’s a lie."

She added: "I'm sorry but if you have voted conservative, you do not deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS."

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When Vine asked her if she would refuse to resuscitate a Tory, she replied: "No, of course I would".

Hughes, who left the NHS last year and works for a south London-based private healthcare company, said she may be let go because she is accused of "bringing the company into disrepute".

Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: "They can do that to me because of their media policy. I am not allowed to say anything."

Hughes said it was anger that fuelled her to say "something inappropriate", adding: "I am being vilified for being some monster that doesn’t care and unfortunately the problem is I care too much."

She said: "Even Jeremy Vine said to me working in the NHS broke you," Hughes said, "Well yes, it has and it’s broken me again."

She added: "I can’t do what’s right and it frustrates the hell out of me because I’ve been sick myself, I’ve had to watch people die and there are no resources to help."

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the independent regulator for nurses and nursing associates, said it had been made aware of the comments.

A spokesperson told The Telegraph: "We’ve seen a lot of tweets about a comment made yesterday on television.

"Our Code is clear that professionals on our register must promote professionalism and trust at all times.

"Where concerns are raised with us we’ll always look into it and consider taking action if needed."

Meanwhile, Hughes told a GB News journalist that her comments had been "manipulated" and that it was a "joke" but that it was right she had lost her job because of the "negative connotations to the company" her comments had made.

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