Call for a Public Inquiry

[IanA2]

Following Raj Mattu's win at Tribunal; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/whi... he and Brian Jarman have called for a Public Inquiry into Whistleblowing. Unless those who smear, traduce and sack honest clinicians who speak out on safety matters, are brought to book, there will be more Bristols, more Mid-Staffordshires, more Alder Hayes etc etc.

These managers have clocked up millions of public money in pursuit of their mantra; deny, defend, delay. Indeed they now seem to be contemplating spending even more public money on an appeal.

A public Inquiry is needed. Write to you MP now, protect what's left of your health service.

[IanA2]

Here is the Telegraph's article. The comments give a fair overview of the public's revulsion at the treatment he received.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10774088/NHS...

[FiF]

I'll support this. They even spent 60k on a private investigator to try and drum up some dirt. Over 200 complaints to GMC all unfounded.

For one I would like to see the snivel serpents responsible for this named and shamed.

[powerstroke]

FiF said:

I'll support this. They even spent 60k on a private investigator to try and drum up some dirt. Over 200 complaints to GMC all unfounded.

For one I would like to see the snivel serpents responsible for this named and shamed.

Yes agree , and for too long these so called managerial types have avoided any consequences arising from their action's

[FiF]

What is sad is this is not the only one, they never learn

Remember the 2012 Olympic Opening ceremony with the deification of the NHS and Great Ormond Street.

Personal connection

Kim along with others was treated utterly disgracefully. This cow basically got away with it.

[IanA2]

Yes, remember Steve Bolsin? The anaesthetist who had to leave the country to get a job. Eventually his work as a whistleblower was recognised.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-24638...

[FiF]

Crumbs, 1995.

[carinaman]

Disgraceful, I made comparisons to Jo Hindley's 'Can I just flag up that Maria Miller has been working on the Leveson Inquiry and been speaking to Editors' with public sector bullying and now this.

Is there a petition on change.org about this yet?

[IanA2]

carinaman said:

Disgraceful, I made comparisons to Jo Hindley's 'Can I just flag up that Maria Miller has been working on the Leveson Inquiry and been speaking to Editors' with public sector bullying and now this.

Is there a petition on change.org about this yet?

Not yet as far as I am aware, but I do know that a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to try and get justice for NHS whistleblowers. It seems that the consensus is that a Public Inquiry is probably the only thing that will work. Several senior figures are asking for it and I suspect that a petition will be launched pretty soon if the mood music doesn't warm up. This one closed some time ago with little interest.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/5741

There's a related petition here: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-governmen... which only needs another 4000 or so sigs.

If you want to know that your doctor is free to flag up errors without fearing for his/her livelihood, sign up.

[IanA2]

Here's the Wail link, apologies, I'm posting it because of the 400 plus comments which in the main seem to describe Middle England as just a wee bit cross at what this poor man has had to endure.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2607269/10...host=www.dailymail.co.uk&param_geolocation=gb&check_user_fe_uri=registration%2Fp%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fuser_check%2F&validation_fe_uri=%2Fregistration%2Fp%2Fapi%2Ffield%2Fvalidation%2F&isMobile=false&param_code=AQDbk6dYxY5ccZy1EbZ58hjXh5BRPpSzaB6bnz88xcz-OLw_-6RqZVQJzjfrWHAm6tjYPsAUt-3NDgL56vqrWTTvqeCG5DJ5QMjJYgBDnhAQAu2E8hd5DRhQjtYkhb7KPA6P66PsY3c47d-xiMc9ylhfmEouoDNL47skUhQHLRse7NHlpIxoOkvIH8xVDnmDcQ1oYir6knUSJyg5opYOSSJPqXrOsXVbt6AhU9visuLxrsQrJQvLvVdybGsxkjbVBQT-zY0i7OHHh4pHyBrFFXvNL3AtdNicQSnjEhTR05hNRIocZbjr9UvdwwhqpCKuM#readerCommentsCommand-message-field

Edited by IanA2 on Saturday 19th April 21:20

[Mojocvh]

Get it on change.org.

Let's see some people power in these blessed lands....

[IanA2]

For those who need greater detail on the background to Raj Mattu's travails, see:

http://witchdoctor.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/all...

[loafer123]

I don't think it should be a public inquiry.

Prosecution of the perpetrators will do far more to prevent it happening again.

Suggestions of appropriate charges welcome...

[IanA2]

loafer123 said:

I don't think it should be a public inquiry.

Prosecution of the perpetrators will do far more to prevent it happening again.

Suggestions of appropriate charges welcome...

Well, it might take a public inquiry to make such recommendations. I should have thought malfeasance in public office would have covered it, but clearly those who could bring those charges do not. Not so far anyway. Personally I'd like to see them losing 90% of their pensions and working in the sluice.

[FiF]

I think a public inquiry is the only way to deal with those who have moved onto other positions. What about people whose careers have been adversely affected, perhaps not in any way to the extent of Dr Mattu but clearly affected. What about people who we don't even know about.

This is just... one... incidence... in... just... one... trust!!!

The people who think they can behave like this are a cancer. They need to be cut out from wherever they have metastasised.

A clear signal needs to be sent.

[IanA2]

FiF said:

I think a public inquiry is the only way to deal with those who have moved onto other positions. What about people whose careers have been adversely affected, perhaps not in any way to the extent of Dr Mattu but clearly affected. What about people who we don't even know about.

This is just... one... incidence... in... just... one... trust!!!

The people who think they can behave like this are a cancer. They need to be cut out from wherever they have metastasised.

A clear signal needs to be sent.

Anne Clwyd and the PHSO have suggested that there should be a mechanism for restorative justice to those who have been traduced. See:

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file...

[IanA2]

Here's a letter from Patients First (Kim Holt et al) to Mr Hunt:

http://drphilhammond.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2...

[carinaman]

FiF said:

I think a public inquiry is the only way to deal with those who have moved onto other positions. What about people whose careers have been adversely affected, perhaps not in any way to the extent of Dr Mattu but clearly affected. What about people who we don't even know about.

This is just... one... incidence... in... just... one... trust!!!

The people who think they can behave like this are a cancer. They need to be cut out from wherever they have metastasised.

A clear signal needs to be sent.

+1.

[anonymous-user]

Having spent a good part of two years working on the Stafford Inquiry, I do not think that another Inquiry will result in the managers responsible for the campaign against Dr Mattu being rendered accountable. The culture of either paying people to resign/retire or moving them to other senior posts seems to continue unabated. My dealings with the senior echelons of the DoH and NHS did not fill me with confidence.

[IanA2]

I don't think there has been any inquiries specifically into the way whistleblowers are treated. The managers responsible for the outrageous behaviour in cases like Raj Mattu's have acted to date with impunity. I've been watching the scene closely over the last ten years and it does seem to me that there is genuine public revulsion to a greater degree than there was before, I really do think the mood music is very different than form even three years ago.

The problem at the moment seems to be that HMG want the CQC &/or Monitor to sort the "whistleblowing problem" and neither of them are really committed to effective resolution. So, maybe a Public Inquiry is what's needed.

BV. Why do you think so many NHS whistleblowers are hung out to dry? And do you have any suggestions about how to sort it?