Ward 87: Men In Kilts - What Lies Beneath.

Sunday, 31 August 2008

Men In Kilts - What Lies Beneath.

Is there a consultant in the
profession with a good set of balls then?

Today, I spent part of the afternoon researching suspensions. It is Sunday and I have been having word finding difficulties. This is what normally happens when my brain slows down a bit after Sunday Lunch. Jobbing Doctor has always come to the rescue. That is because he is my hero :) [ looking up at him with doe eyes as we speak].

I have written on my favourite topic of the moment - the Scottish SpR. I outlined the illegality of the suspension. Jobbing Doctor though points out quite rightly

"You outline a very good case for what is, I believe, called Natural Justice. I believe that Professors Paice and Needham have acted outside their jurisdiction, and therefore are at risk of being countersued for prevention of a doctor carrying out his lawful occupation, and also unfair character assassination. This suspension needs to be revoked forthwith"

The key words here are Natural Justice which I missed out. The second point is that Paice and Needham have indeed acted outside their jurisdiction.

My prized discovery this afternoon was this website http://www.suspension-nhs.org/ . I have never been suspended myself so I have no idea what it must feel like. I suspect it must feel terrible.

Of course, my argument here is this - I don't have to be the one complaining to the General Medical Council. Where are the big guns and the leaders of our profession? Where is Graeme Catto in all this? He knows about medical education, has contacts with Scotland and probably wears a kilt, so where are they all ? Why is there this uncomfortable silence in the top level medics? What lies beneath the crowing words about protecting junior doctors?

Perhaps someone will let me know who is protecting the rights of this Scottish SpR. Just for avoidance of doubt, I have raised this with the Department of Health today. While all this is being done, let me know if any consultants are currently rallying around to protect Dr Sean Connery SpR. If he has his selection of Men in Kilts then he will not need us.

This is the last post I shall write on this subject on this particular matter until there are updates this week. I am particularly in need of a holiday and some TLC. In the absence of any Scottish heroes, I am disappearing back into my whistleblower hermit hut for 24-48 hours. I shall though be back.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Och, I could never get any one of the men in my life, all Scots, into a kilt either. Such a dire disappointment! I mean, not only is the kilt the best looking mens wear in the world (speaking from the distaff point of view ;-) but it also comes with inbuilt pulling power...wouldn't you think that the guys had clocked that by now!! Scottish rugby shirts just don't resonate in the same way...; 31 August 2008 at 18:53
Anonymous said...: Maybe there are just too many failed surgeons out there - Alistair Scotland, Liam Donaldson to name a couple, wanting our ballsy young scotsman to fail too?; 31 August 2008 at 22:48

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About The Author

There is a lot of things most people can say about me but in reality I am NHS Whistleblower. In 1998, I followed the guidance set out in Good Medical Practice[GMC] and raised concerns about substandard care on Ward 87 North Staffordshire NHS Trust. I also raised concerns about the large number of Midlands Hospitals covered by West Midlands NHS Executive in 1999. Following the recordings of the HSMR scores, only Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust spiked their figures. This was due to the inordinately high death rates. These deaths could have been prevented had the government acted in 1999. There are many other hospitals with equally high death rates but 1000s have not raised the HSMR scores. The Mid Staffordshire Inquiry shows poor standards that are similar to many hospitals in the Midlands [particularly Distinct General Hospitals]. They were also the identical to the concerns raised by me in 1999, many years before.

In 2010 the CQC finally admitted that North Staffordshire had "significantly high mortality" in the years I raised concerns.

This blog follows my adventures as a whistleblower. It was written between 2008-2010. It seeks to present what the media have never done. I also aim to discuss a number of medical issues important in the NHS today. A short account of my experiences is presented here.

Essentially, I raised concerns in 1998, locally then to all the authorities, the GMC, Department of Health and Trust attempted to say there was no substance to my concerns. In 2005, I discovered that all authorities had concealed the 1998 and 2001 internal reports that verified my concerns. This is a brief step by step summary of the events related to Ward 87.

Between 2000-2002, the General Medical Council conducted a "discreet inquiry" into my Fitness to Practice. I was never told of this investigation until I discovered quite by accident following a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998. The GMC were subjected to litigation by me due to the illegal investigation and repeated leaks of prejudicial information to potential employers. They were beaten in court following the first litigation of its kind. The GMC settled the case in favour of me. During litigation, the GMC subjected me quite severe harassment by revolving door vexatious complaints - 2 in total. I was cleared of all of them. I was never subjected to any Fitness to Practise hearings. All complaints were thrown out at case examiner's stage despite the GMC's malevolent intentions.

The GMC subsequently erased me from the Register for non payment of subscription fees. It should be emphasized that I was never sanctioned or struck off has speculated by some bloggers. In total, I have been subjected to 4 years of complaints that had no relation to my clinical work. This has had catastrophic consequences to my work as a doctor and eventually caused the assassination of my references in 2007.

This led to the test case R v General Medical Council Ex Parte Pal with the intention of defining the definition of potential misconduct and preventing vexatious complaints against doctors. The complaints were made by Penny Mellor and her associate Fiona Wollard [ niece of Professor Sir Charles George].

While permission was granted by a judge with Employment Law experience, the final hearing was lost courtesy of Justice Sir Andrew Collins who made various statements. One was that the GMC was free to rule differently on two separate cases with exactly the same facts and the other was to widen the analysis of misconduct to include conduct outside the profession. Justice Sir Andrew Collins has sat on numerous cases related to the GMC. He has often failed to declare that his brother Dr Mark Collins was once prosecuted by the GMC for alliances in Clapham Common. Details of this can be read here.

The two diametrically opposite analysis of misconduct was also discovered following the GMC's submission to R v General Medical Council Ex Parte Remedy UK. Essentially, one analysis appears to be used for some foreign doctors and a different more lenient definition is used for establishment doctors such as Liam Donaldson. The GMC were essentially caught red handed touting two different analysis of misconduct in two cases. This discrepancy is currently being investigated by both the CHRE and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The defenses to all these cases have taken up 52 files. By comparison, the GMC refused to investigate the doctors on Ward 87 despite the fact that their conduct was directly related to clinical work. They continue to work in various positions in the UK. No one was held accountable despite 2 reports verifying my concerns. Moreover, the Health Commission refused to conduct a broader data study in relation to the Ward 87. The GMC and Ombudsman refused to inform the patients on the Ward of the 1998 and 2001 Reports. The Sentinel newspapers refused to feature a legitimate advert.

In 2009, after discussion with Dr Phil Hammond, he wrote an excellent piece in Private Eye. While the media have provided little or no support for these issues, I am indebted to my fellow bloggers - Dr Rant, The Jobbing Doctor, Dr John Crippen and Witchdoctor. This blog exists to protect other doctors who I hope will never tread the path of whistleblowing. It is a path paved with injustice. It also serves to show the public that they cannot legitimately expect doctors to raise concerns in such a dangerous terrain. This indeed places patient safety in great jeopardy.

This blog ended in February 2010 as it was unlikely that I would ever return to medicine. I have also decided to end this particular saga here. I hope this blog will educate, entertain and remind the public that whistleblowing is a dangerous escapade and no junior doctor has treaded the same path as I have for a reason. The terrain is unsafe and always has been. I would say that I have been relatively unsupported in my journey through whistleblowing but singlehandedly I have been able to undercover evidence and establish some very important issues regarding the dangers of whistleblowing. I have ceased to respond to the media but I am always very happy to discuss matters with the public.

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Sunday, 31 August 2008

Men In Kilts - What Lies Beneath.

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