Black nurse wins £20,000 for racist mother's baby ban

A black nurse who was banned from caring for a white baby girl because her mother was racist won £20,000 in compensation yesterday.

A black nurse who was banned from caring for a white baby girl because her mother was racist won £20,000 in compensation yesterday.

Rosie Purves was awarded the maximum amount available after an employment tribunal ruled that the hospital she worked for was "complicit" in the racial discrimination that she had suffered at the hands of the woman.

Mrs Purves, 58, was working on the paediatric ward at Southampton General Hospital when a six-month-old baby with cystic fibrosis, known only as LS, was admitted for treatment.

The girl's mother told a doctor that she did not want Mrs Purves to care for her daughter.

In the tribunal ruling, the panel chairman Martin Kurrein said: "Whilst she [the mother] had no problem with the care the applicant gave to LS, she was a racist and she did not wish a black person, the applicant in particular, to care for her child."

When Mrs Purves later attempted to move the girl from a bed to a cubicle, the mother became abusive.

After hearing the ruling, Mrs Purves said: "I suppose I feel relieved but I am also sad that it has got to this stage in this day and age. I am pleased that I had the courage to do it and am delighted that it's all over."