Ward 87: It's ALIVE

Thursday, 11 September 2008

It's ALIVE

GMC Responds

On the 29th August 2008, I referred both Prof Paice and Needham to the General Medical Council. It was followed by an email containing this link . I then asked them to add the management guidance [GMC] within it. On the 10th September 2008, I discovered an old letter in my files that made life a little more interesting. On September 11th 2008, the GMC responded showing us all that someone is actually alive at our regulatory body.

Dr Rant writes something interesting. He writes

"Needham is reported to have used an eight year old incident from when Dr Scot Junior was a medical student to justify her suspension"

Given the GMC has a 5 year limitation on all complaints, I wonder how Gillian justifies an 8 year old issue :). Then there is moving the goalposts on the grounds of suspension. Then there is further victimisation. Does Prof Needham really want to stand in an Employment Tribunal and admit that she has trawled through to his provisional year or even medical school days? It is called a fishing escapade. Moving the goalposts is also tantamount to harassment. We would all like to know the grounds of suspension actually. In any case, which job contract is Needham relying on these days :). Using retrospective factors and stretching it to fit the present job contract eh. Now that is novel. Of course, Needham thinks she is safe from the courts. Is she really really safe from the Harassment Act 1997. This is the case law. Now, the point about damages is that our man Dr Scot Jnr could potentially claim career damages. Now, imagine how that high profile case would look in the front pages of all the newspapers.

This is a short post today as I don't feel like writing much. I am rather subdued in general, probably because I am exhausted and have been physically ill.

I am going to be taking a short break. Please view http://www.witchdoctor.wordpress.com for updates in the interim. A summary of the case can be found here.

Email from the GMC

----- Original Message -----
From: Jackie Smith (020 7189 5132)
To: dr.ritapal@googlemail.com
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:12 PM
Subject: Re: Further evidence

Dear Dr Pal

Thank you for your email which I received yesterday.

I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I will be in touch with again on this matter very shortly.

Regards,

Jackie Smith

3 comments:

Dr Liz Miller said...: Get better quickly - I just love your sense of humour. Words and pictures !!! nothing like it anywhere else on the Internet; 11 September 2008 at 23:30
Anonymous said...: Jackie smith is a repulsive old jobsworth. She is only trying to appear efficient because she knows her responses will be posted here. No need to use first name terms with the woman, Dr Pal - it's a bit creepy.; 12 September 2008 at 05:40
Anonymous said...: I practically live at the GMC with my damned tent. Well, I have done for 8 years. Despite being cleared, the GMC and I seem to be stuck in headlock over many things.

I am on first name terms with Blake, Jackie and Mark. I don't like Finlay but some of the rest are ok. Dobson is, Mark Ellen is. Jackie Smith has her job, she sometimes does it well, sometimes badly. I don't give them stick because the real people responsible for the GMC misdemeanors are

1. Committee members
2. Finlay Scott
3. Paul Philip

Make no mistake - I dislike the above completely. Just because I am on first name terms and fairly polite doesn't mean I like them. Just don't find it prudent to be mean to everyone there.

Everyone else just acts on orders. I often system test the GMC quite frequently and occasionally they do change the way they work - eg collecting ethnic census which was mine and Sushant's fault. The system in the end needs to be better for the future.

I am going to system test the London Deanery soon. Apparently, they don't have many policies or procedures.

RP

PS Liz - I feel crap at present. Can't seem to write much this weekend. Tired more than anything else.; 12 September 2008 at 09:45

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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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Thursday, 11 September 2008

It's ALIVE

3 comments:

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