Nurse Margaret Haywood says she feels she has been treated "very harshly" for being struck off after secretly filming for a BBC Panorama programme exposing neglect of elderly patients in a hospital.

Ms Haywood, 58, recorded appalling conditions at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton for a BBC documentary screened in July 2005.

Today, she wept as the Nursing and Midwifery Council removed her from the nursing register with immediate effect.

Speaking after the hearing, Ms Haywood, of Liverpool, said: "There was no other way of getting the full picture. "I am absolutely devastated and upset by it all. I think I have been treated very harshly.

"It is a serious issue and I knew it was a risk I was taking but I thought the filming was justified and it was in the public interest.

"I did voice my concerns through my immediate line manager and I also went to my ward manager but nothing was really taken on board."

Ms Haywood was found guilty of misconduct yesterday at a hearing in central London.

The panel said that given the seriousness of her misconduct, "it would not be in the public interest for her to be able to practise as a nurse".

Linda Read, chair of the panel, said: "In the view of the panel, this was a major breach of the code of conduct. A patient should be able to trust a nurse with his/her physical condition and psychological wellbeing without that confidential information being disclosed to others.

"Although the conditions on the ward were dreadful, it was not necessary to breach confidentiality to seek to improve them by the method chosen.

"The panel is of the view that the misconduct found is fundamentally incompatible with being a nurse.

"The registrant embarked upon filming many vulnerable, elderly patients in the last stages of their lives, knowing that it was unlikely that they would be able to give any meaningful consent to that process, in circumstances where their dignity was most compromised.

"The registrant could have attempted to address shortcomings by other means. But this was never a course of action which she fully considered."

Ms Haywood, who had worked as a nurse for more than 20 years, told the hearing earlier she would be "devastated" if she was prevented from continuing to work as a nurse.

Dr Karen Johnson, representing Ms Haywood, told the tribunal that the documentary had "immense" impact.

She said: "It is through programmes like Panorama that awareness is raised.

"The results were local and throughout the country, and there has since been an ongoing campaign to improve the conditions.

"She was an exceedingly good nurse who always put patients first and filming second."

On the subject of whistle-blowing, a Royal College of Nursing spokesman said: "It is absolutely vital that healthcare staff at all levels feel they can raise concerns about poor patient care with their managers.

"Those in charge must put robust systems in place which allow staff to voice their concerns. Just as important is the need for trusts to ensure that every member of staff is fully aware of such systems and know that they will be supported when raising genuine concerns.

"However, it is clear that there are parts of the health service which do not have such systems or working environments in place. This can put staff in an extremely difficult position and when staff concerns are discouraged or ignored, it can often lead to poor patient care getting worse."