A Conservative peer who branded nurses “grubby, drunken and promiscuous” during a debate in the House of Lords faced a rebuke from David Cameron and fury from nursing leaders and ministers yesterday.

The Royal College of Nursing said Lord Mancroft’s comments were “grossly unfair on nurses across the UK” and amounted to a “sexist insult about the behaviour of British women”.

Mr Cameron, who was said to be furious, told Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, that he should reprimand the peer.

The row developed after Lord Mancroft claimed it was “a miracle” that he was still alive after his experience of filthy wards and “slipshod and lazy” nurses when he was admitted to the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

He alleged that nurses chatted to one another about their sex lives and alcohol intake in front of patients, some of whom they regarded simply as “a nuisance”.

“The nurses who looked after me were mostly grubby — we are talking about dirty fingernails and hair — and were slipshod and lazy. Worst of all, they were drunken and promiscuous,” he said.

“How do I know that? Because if you’re a patient and you’re lying in a bed, and you’re being nursed from either side, they talk across you as if you’re not there. So I know exactly what they got up to the night before, and how much they drank, and I know exactly what they were planning to do the next night, and I can tell you, it’s pretty horrifying.”

The nurses were “an accurate reflection of many young women in Britain today”, the peer claimed.

But, as the furore over his remarks mounted, it emerged that it was not the first time Lord Mancroft had criticised the health service.

The peer was treated successfully for heroin addiction in the United States. In a Lords debate in 1991 he accused the NHS of being the “biggest supplier of addictive drugs in the world”.

Lord Mancroft, chairman of the Addiction Recovery Foundation, was reported in The Times at the time as saying that his life had been governed for years by an addiction to heroin, cocaine, alcohol and pills.

His family had searched everywhere for the help he needed. Eventually he was treated successfuly in Minnesota. Later, he suggested that the Health Department send a team to America to study methods of treatment.

Lord Mancroft, who went to Eton and is a member of Pratt’s Club in St James’s, London, told peers on Thursday night that he owed his life to the fact that his wife had "kidnapped” him from the Royal United Hospital and took him to a hospital in London where standards were higher.

The Tory peer did not name the hospital involved, but the RCN said it had identified it and was in contact with the NHS trust responsible to discuss his allegations.

Mr Cameron was swift to act. Aides said he was furious and has asked Lord Strathclyde to rebuke Lord Mancroft strongly. His views were not shared by the Conservative Party, which knew that nurses did a fantastic job, often in difficult circumstances, a spokesman said.

Peter Carter, the RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: “These comments are extremely unhelpful and grossly unfair on nurses across the UK, who work extremely hard to provide patients with the highest standards of care.

“Where poor nursing exists, it should always be challenged through the proper channels.

“If any patient has an issue with their treatment by staff they should raise this with the healthcare provider, rather than make sweeping generalisations about nurses and sexist insults about the behaviour of British women.”

Ann Keen, a Labour health minister, said: “I am appalled at his comments and I’m sure the rest of the British public are too.

“The entire country holds nurses in the highest regard.” Gail Adams, Unison head of nursing, said: “There is no excuse for bad nursing and Lord Mancroft’s complaints need to be investigated thoroughly by the hospital.

“However, his gross generalisations will make many nurses extremely angry and upset, and rightly so.

“To brand all nurses in this way is an insult. Most patients would agree that the vast majority of nursing staff are a credit to their profession.

“They deliver high-quality, professional care, day in, night out, caring for patients, and take great pride in their work.”

‘I know exactly what they got up to’

“The nurses who looked after me were mostly grubby – we are talking about dirty fingernails and hair – and were slipshod and lazy. Worst of all, they were drunken and promiscuous.

“If you’re a patient and you’re lying in a bed and you’re being nursed from either side, they talk across you as if you’re not there. I know exactly what they got up to the night before, and how much they drank, and I know exactly what they were planning to do the next night, and I can tell you, it’s pretty horrifying.”
Lord Mancroft

“These comments are extremely unhelpful and grossly unfair on nurses across the UK who work extremely hard to provide patients with the highest standards of care.”
Peter Carter, RCN general secretary

“I am appalled at his comments and I’m sure the rest of the British public are too. The entire country holds nurses in the highest regard.”
Ann Keen, a Labour Health Minister

“His gross generalisations will make many nurses extremely angry and upset, and rightly so. To brand all nurses in this way is an insult. Most patients would agree that the vast majority of nursing staff are a credit to their profession.”
Gail Adams, Unison head of nursing

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