Ghosts Oncall After Midnight

Who is Oncall Tonight?

Staffordshire has its share of ghosts. The BBC website has some interesting material on hauntings.North Staffordshire NHS Trust's main ghosts consist of children dressed in Victorian clothes running around after midnight. These children are only seen by those oncall after midnight apparently. No one knows the origin of these sightings. Hospitals are spooky places at night, especially for those F1 doctors who have to certify patients dead tonight. Anyway, before you all read the ghostly tales from Staffordshire, Witchdoctor is serving up Pumpkin Soup and Apple Pie on this cold winter's night.

Here are some legends and ghostly tales from Staffordshire, the home of Ward 87.

This is the Legend of Molly Leigh,
The Witch of Stoke on Trent

"In a cemetery at Burslem there lies the tomb of a witch, Molly Leigh - sometimes known as Margaret or Molly Lee.After her burial, the priest returned to her house only to find her sitting in the corner of the room. She was returned to the tomb which was found to be turned around by 90 degrees.The priest had the tomb realigned and buried her again, this time with a blackbird to lay the spirit to rest.The next day the tomb had returned to being 90 degrees mis-aligned, but the body remained in the tomb and so it remains today" Further detail is available here.

Then there is the Legend of Dr Thomas Oliver.

"The young surgeon, Dr Thomas Oliver, cut a pathetic figure as he was led to the gallows at Stafford Gaol in 1797 for shooting dead John Wood of Brownhills.

“It seemed to have been a tragic story of young love and parental protectiveness,” says historian Steve Birks, “A tale of pride and prejudice when a suitor came to call on the father of a prosperous family only to be shown the door with fatal consequences.”

Thomas Oliver was a well-liked Burslem doctor, not as popular for his medical ability as for his sociable aptitude with a gin bottle. And he was over the moon to be walking out with the daughter of a leading potter. But matters took a turn for the worse when her father, John Wood, put a stop to the affair. A depressed Oliver decided to commit suicide in front of the Wood’s at their Brownhills residence but shot and killed Wood instead"

The Ghost of Dr Thomas still haunts the High School.

The there is the Staffordshire University Vampires.

"Vampires seem a more modern phenomenon - dating back to the publication of Dracula in the 19th century perhaps.But Staffordshire University boasts a vampire society and online vampire role-play games give enthusiasts plenty to sink their teeth into while taking a break from the horror films.One site vampire site even features the mysterious "Prince of Staffordshire" whom no one wants to cross (geddit?) on a dark night"

Dr Monica Spitieri Professor at Staffordshire University should feel right at home. Indeed, she would not have to wear a disguise at all.


The Legend of the Mermaid

"The Mermaid Inn near Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands marks a point in the moors where, at an acidic pool, the repeated sightings of a ghost in the pool has sparked the Mermaid Legend. The legend suggests that on the night of Easter's Eve, a young man on seeing the mermaid will be granted riches for one year. But he will be so infatuated with her beauty, he will be drawn to throw himself into the pool to be with her forever...

Here is a list of the ghosts in Staffordshire . This is a fascinating court case related to the haunted house.

GLADSTONE POTTERY MUSEUM
Uttoxeter Road
Longton
Stoke on Trent
Staffordshire

One of the custodians here told Julian Dunn of BBC Radio 2, in 1978 that up to a few weeks earlier he had dismissed the idea of ghost as `ridiculous`. But one evening, about 5.45, he was checking through the building to make sure no visitors had accidentally been locked in, when he noticed the figure of an old man near one of the benches. 'He was grey-haired with side whiskers and wearing a short brown coat, like a smock. I called out to him, pointing out that we were closed and he faded away. I found it hard to believe what I had seen'. Later, however, the official checked with other members of the staff and learnt that some of them has also seen the phantom. Even a late visitor pointed out that 'there's an old chap still in there'. When he left the building, but nothing was found. The first witness believes that the old gentleman is one of the former pottery craftsmen who originally worked in the early Victorian Potbank in which the museum is housed"by Andrew Green

And on this cold, dark and spooky winter's night, I bid you good night. Those who are oncall tonight, remember not to walk down dark corridors or old wards. Remember to be nice to your patients, because the dead ones often return after dark :).

Person Andrew Green

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Free Speech. The Legal Directive

Of late, I have noted that many of my friends and colleagues have been admonished for their critical remarks regarding various NHS authorities. To assist their defences, I am featuring a section of a leading judgment on Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 [ Free Speech].

This also applies to the current unlawful treatment of Dr X by the General Medical Council and NCAS. This doctor was sanctioned by the GMC for emails he had written criticising the MMC. These emails were subsequently discussed by NCAS. When Dr X attempted to write to their lawyers in his defence, a referral was sent again to the GMC immediately. Apparently, according to NCAS and Prof Scotland, no doctor can criticise any NCAS officials.

This case law also applies to Prof Paice and Gillian Needham who sanctioned Dr Scot Jnr. Their sanction was unlawful and this is the reason why. I ought not to harp on about this issue but I suspect there are lessons that should be learned from it.

I trust the General Medical Council will be reading this in detail.

The quote is from a respected Judge [ Sedley J].

REDMOND-BATE Appellant - and -DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS Respondent Case No: CO/188/99

The quote is

"Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having. What Speakers’ Corner (where the law applies as fully as anywhere else) demonstrates is the tolerance which is both extended by the law to opinion of every kind and expected by the law in the conduct of those who disagree, even strongly, with what they hear. From the condemnation of Socrates to the persecution of modern writers and journalists, our world has seen too many examples of state control of unofficial ideas. A central purpose of the European Convention on Human Rights has been to set close limits to any such assumed power. We in this country continue to owe a debt to the jury which in 1670 refused to convict the Quakers William Penn and William Mead for preaching ideas which offended against state orthodoxy"

If anyone would like a copy of the case law, please email me on rpal@btinternet.com

Wicked Witches

Professor Paice's Wicked Ways

Ian Hislop has never printed anything I have to say. That is probably because of the influence by Phil Hammond. Nevertheless, a few days ago, I was told by a nice little medical student that an annoying letter had been submitted to Private Eye regarding Dr Scot Jnr. It was clear that Paice had resorted to digging up anyone who could and would support her. No doubt she will be spotted at midnight digging the graves of all her supporters from the dark ages. Desperate people do things in desperate times. London Deanery will no doubt have made special adaptations for An American Werewolf in London on the 31st October 2008. Perhaps we ought to have told Ian Hislop that Prof Paice is subject to a GMC Investigation.

As Private Eye will no doubt reject my letter - much like the Godlee BMJ repeatedly does [ but prints material I write on behalf of my friends :)], I decided to print my response here. In my view, I believe it is best never to rely on any publication.

Of course, it should have been Private Eye campaigning for the reinstatement of Dr Scot Jnr. Clearly the magazine had better things to do.

Copy of Letter in Private Eye

"Sir,

I feel I must write in defence of Professor Elisabeth Paice (Medicine Balls 1220). Having worked as her PA for several years in the 1990s, I know her to be entirely committed to the support and welfare of junior doctors and passionate about improving their working conditions and opportunities. She is certainly nor petty or vindictive.

Dame Carol Black may or may not be a shit, but Dr Mackay is clearly an idiot. I mean, how many degrees do you need to recognise that abusing a senior colleague, in writing, in a public forum, is a bad idea? Quite apart from being unprofessional, it shows such poor judgement that I'm glad I'm never likely to be his patient, and surely Prof Paice and her colleagues were quite right to address it.

If I'd been caught doing something so foolish, I'd be keeping very quiet about it, not whingeing to Private Eye about how badly I'd been treated.

Yours faithfully,

Rebecca Rooum
Warwick"

MY RESPONSE

Dear Sirs,

RE: Rebecca Rooum's letter [ Response to Medicine Balls 1220]

As a bona fide NHS Whistleblower with a Report verifying my concerns regarding substandard care, I wish to make the following comments. In March 2002, a Commission of Health Improvements Report stated as follows "CHI was informed that junior doctors working in medicine were often inadequately supervised and often left alone on wards, particularly on the medical assessment unit (MAU). During an evening visit we found only two junior doctors covering MAU, which was full to capacity, with a further junior doctor covering MAU and emergency admissions; one junior doctor covered the medical wards and one covered medical outliers but these patients could be on wards on either site. CHI felt this situation posed a potential clinical risk to patients.”

Professor Paice was informed of the above in 1998 as she was my supervising Postgraduate Dean. She took no action. Her friend Professor Needham is currently visitor to the above hospital for the GMC and made no comments regarding the above issues. Our conclusion therefore is that she is not "entirely committed to the support and welfare of junior doctors and passionate about improving their working conditions and opportunities"

I understand that Rebecca Rooum is a PA but even PAs are able to read the basics of Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998. Sedley J in 1999 pointed out "free speech included "not only the inoffensive, but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative, provided that it did not tend to provoke violence.Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having" .

Professor Paice's subjective view is not the " law" although she may think it is.

Regards

Dr Rita Pal
[ Part of the Campaign Group to Reinstate Dr Scot Jnr]

-------------------------------------------------

Aunty Eats Fried Bacon

Politically Correct.

There are many problems with the BBC. The first current problem is the Ofcom Investigation into Jonafan Woss and Mr Brand. In my view, its all a load of rubbish and everyone should take their balls and bats home and stop taking life so seriously.

Boys will be boys and Woss apologised.Clearly, the public want their scalps on a fire. If they got half as excitable about the poor quality NHS, we might even have an improvement in the system.

Aunty Beeb received more than 10,000 complaints showing us all that those in the UK care more about a silly prank and some bad language than they do about the system around them. Suspension seems to be the rage these days as it was with Dr Scot Jnr. It seems that every employer is PC. It says something about the times we live it, it says that the media are more concerned about a prank gone wrong rather than those who compromise patient care. This was just an observation.

Witchdoctor Reports Neil Bacon's affair with the BBC. The BBC have again made the wrong call. Mind you, the BBC keeps making the wrong call. At least one doctor [ Mr T] took the BBC to task for their shoddy reporting. Indeed, their recent embarrassment in court cost them an arm and a leg. This is not the first time Panorama have been in serious hot water. John Sweeney their reporter was in hotwater over a complaint made by a paediatrician to Ofcom. Nevertheless, he went onto influence a case while it was under appeal.

So as we can see, the quality of choice by Aunty Beeb seems to have fallen considerably. This is why they hail Bacon as their devine choice to speak on "patient issues". He cared so much about patient rights that he left these comments on his ex forum.

In an earlier message, written on the 19th November 2003, Dr Woodman confessed to having himself been the subject of two official complaints, "with a 50:50 split result!" He said, "For the two years that each took to sort out I found life hell." Speaking of a complaint against him that was dismissed, he added, "When the complaint is thrown out (and thrown out again after the patient appeals) you can't even go round and burn his house down!"

This is what Bacon states

"We’ve got to remember we’re talking about people who’ve grown up now making decisions and reading reviews from other users, reading ratings when they buy a washing machine, booking a holiday. And yet we ask them to take their child to hospital or put their life in the hands of someone without seeing the comments from other people.”

This is of course the man who banned and insulted legitimate patients' views on nhsexposed.com. Of course, to him these aren't "real people" according to Neil. We ask Neil whether he has had any access to patients over the last few years? Does he really care about patients? What has he ever done in his entire life to support patient rights? Those of us who know Neil's antics are aware that he "uses" patients to further "his business". He abuses their "data" to further his business. The reason he comments in the media is to " make money". People don't actually think he is doing this for the public good do they?

As Witchdoctor points out, your barn door physicians cannot even be found on iwantgreatcare.org. The majority are dead anyway.

The BBC are therefore propagating a website the GMC defined as " UNTESTED". Ummm risky moves Aunty Beeb! It is a bit like all the distorted reporting on medical issues.

Clearly, they like to live dangerously. Seriously, who cares what Bacon is using patient data for eh?! Does anyone care? The BBC certainly has no intention of informing the public about the real risks of data processing.

The BBC have a rather cavalier attitude to a man currently investigated by the Information Commissioner. Just remember all you guys and gals, if the IC rules against Bacon, the GMC can move in because we know they take up Data Protection complaints from the GMC's antics in Leamington Spa plus GMC v Southall.

This by the way was a continuation of the "HYPE".

GMC Says iwantgreatcare IS " UNTESTED AND AS SUCH PERHAPS WE SHOULDN'T HAVE PROMOTED IT"

How do we get out of this "Quietly"?

Dr Neil Bacon cites the criticisms of the blogsphere to be a " noisy minority". He crowed away much like a large fat puffer fish telling the world how grand he was.

The "effect" of the blogsphere can be seen by the reaction of the General Medical Council. Sometime ago, we reported that the GMC had dissociated from Dr Neil Bacon and iwantgreatcare.org.

As I prefer evidence, I pottered over to the General Medical Council and asked them for the original documents. I have uploaded them below. The emails are extremely interesting. It shows President Graeme Catto "offered" the piece that Neil wrote in GMC Today. The furore had started after I wrote a brief post regarding my disgust. Dr Crippen then took the issue up and the furore began.

I have often suspected some favouritism between President Graeme Catto and Neil Bacon. They are both renal physicians afterall. The emails below confirms that Graeme allowed Bacon to play with his dipsticks. The enclosed is the internal exchanges of emails obtained from GMC Towers. I have quoted some of the most interesting and amusing texts.

Cover Letter
Guy Goodwin to Tim Walker [ GMC Towers]

The site was indeed untested and as such perhaps we shouldn't have promoted it, but this was a piece that Graeme "offered".
Could you advise please?


Paul Spindler to Jackie Rowley et al
"Both Dr Bacon and his colleague Dr Roy were very apologetic"
"To cut a long story short, all mentions of revalidation
and the GMC have been removed"
"It is possible that a canny journalist or doctor
will sport these modifications and
suspect some kind of intervention on our part"
"However, I get the sense that the "HYPE"
surrounding this website is starting to quiet down"

Finlay Scott at his best. We have to give him 20/10 for Diplomacy. No doubt he really wanted to tell Bacon to..........

So there are many things I dislike about Finlay Scott. He goes missing during important court hearings [Pal v GMC 2004]. Yes, its true, no one in the GMC could find him despite requests from Judge Harris. No one could find him under his desk either. He may have been in Graeme Catto's wardrobe though. Counsel failed to check there.

Finlay dislikes me. That is fine because the feeling is mutual. That is because I give him a run for his money all the time. He can be sure that no doctor will ever make his hair fall out as much as I do. My intention is to prove that money and millions cannot buy tactics and intelligence.

Nevertheless, one can even admire reptiles from afar for their sheer intelligence and smarm. There is a certain darkened charm in reptiles. You have to have "quality"- even in your enemies.

Neil Bacon didn't have "quality" but Finlay Scott does have some "quality" about him.

Finlay Scott is diplomatic. Finlay Scott is also highly intelligent. His pristine image is never ruined because everyone around him does "the job" he intends. Personally, I think he would look better in Saville Row suits but that is because I believe if you cannot admire the heart of a man, you simply have to resort to their looks.

So, I was thinking about all the positives because someone emailed me about my rather negative view on the GMC. They suggested that I say something positive about Finlay Scott. So, having bitten my lip - I suppose Finlay wrote a excellent statement for the Shipman Inquiry. He has all the trappings of Dorian Grey - appearance wise. I am positive that he has some portrait of him in a darkened room growing old while he remains suave. There are just a few things missing in Finlay Scott but no man is perfect by any means.

If Scott wants it done, it gets done. We have to admit that it cannot be easy running the Titanic and crashing it into a iceberg every minute.

We noted the increasing visitations to nhsexposedblog during the iwantgreatcare.org hype!. Of course, no one would admit that we [ Jobbing Doctor, Witchdoctor, Dr Crippen and I] had anything remotely to do with Finlay's decision. What were we again? Ah, yes, a "noisy minority". What is Neil going to call Finlay Scott then? A noisy minority??

The dissociation from iwantgreatcare.org was done because Scott ordered it.

Interestingly, if I believed in something and wrote on this website or blog - the GMC would never succeed in forcing its removal. They would have to fight me to the ends of every court room in the UK.

Bacon may be many things but today he has shown himself to be nothing more than a wimp. That goes for Dr Roy as well. Both are currently to be found bowing and scraping to Finlay Scott. Bacon and Roy are cowards, they are incompetent, less than transparent and should be investigated by the GMC for misleading so many members of the public. If the Information Commissioner rules against Bacon, he is to be sent directly to the General Medical Council for indepth investigation of his conduct.

As for me - I don't bow and scrape to anyone. I never have and never will. There are many things you can desert - chocolate, food, good looking men, your virginity but you never desert your self respect.

NB Thankyou Mark Ellen of the GMC for supplying the above documents. No doubt they were supplied to me by order of Finlay Scott, CEO to the GMC. Many thanks to both of you.

Since the post above, 1 hour later, the General Medical Council appeared

28 Oct 17:55:17
MSIE 6.0
Windows XP
1280x1024
United Kingdom
80.169.163.211 [ General Medical Council]
ward87.blogspot.com/2008/10/gmc-says-iwantgreatcare-is-untested-and.html
No referring link

NMC IS PANTS

Exhibit A
NMC Hearing October 2008

The NMC is apparently the Nursing and Midwifery Council. They are apparently the GMC in drag. The NMC doesn't do many useful things apart from sit there looking pretty. Those of us who are rather astute in these matters will remember the whistleblowers over at the NMC earlier on this year. This is what they said

"The NMC appears to be a fundamentally dysfunctional organisation, where the priority of those in charge of the organisation is to maintain the status quo at the expense of proper transparency and good governance."

The MP then said as follows "there appeared to be "an ingrained culture of bullying and racism as a means of preventing good governance in general and, in particular, any proper examination of what is going on".

OMG OMG does that sound like the General Medical Council? Surely not!

Anyway, at 5am this morning, I was sent a small piece from the Sun newspapers. There is a minor issue of the nurses pants under display at the NMC of late.

"A NURSE faces a hospital ban after selling her KNICKERS on eBay.Sheena McMillan, 24, charged £20 for a clean pair and £23 for those she had worn, a disciplinary hearing heard yesterday.The Nursing and Midwifery Council in London heard how Staff Nurse Sheena ran her sordid business from Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.But she was rumbled after a kinky email titled “Naughty Knicks” triggered the hospital’s automatic alert system"

So while poor Sheena McMillan is briefly in trouble, I wanted to make a few comments about the NMC's actions on nurses who are truly incompetent. The email below is self explanatory. It concerns the crap nursing qualities of the now defunct Ward 87. The report outlined the catastrophic failures in nursing. Further documentation can be found here. It is fair to say that while knickers are of vital importance to the NMC, patient deaths aren't.

The NMC failed to grasp the basics of these reports and initially threw the complaint out [ after lounging around since 2005]. They then made the wonderful excuse of " We can't find the nurse gov". This was of course until I sent them the entertaining email below. It outlines the sheer stupidity of an organisation who in 4 or more years has failed to allow any accountability for the substandard nursing on Ward 87. So despite findings against these nurses, the NMC turned a blind eye. I couldn't really make up my mind whether they were just stupid or dim or perhaps both. Of course, North Staffordshire NHS Trust has managed to block any meaningful independent scrutiny of the catastrophe they themselves overlooked for 10 years or more.

We should remember that the Royal College of Nursing and the NMC were present during the 2001 inquiry. They clearly all sat there in their pretty little nursey uniforms and did sweet FA.

So while they drag poor Sheena down their procedures, they should spare a thought for the really dysfunctional, half witted, idiotic, vindictive and malicious nurses who caused the deaths of thousands of people on ward 87, then attempted to frame me for something I didn't do when I raised those concerns. These members of the esteemed nursing profession lied to the Health and Safety Executive [ under PACE] which probably amounts to perjury. Of course, the NMC have overlooked all this. They have said they would " consider" my email, that was many months ago. Of course, we all know that my email will be shelved because to them, hounding poor Sheena is much more beneficial than actually doing some constructive work.

This is why the blog post will be floating on the internet to remind them that I don't take well to dysfunctional regulatory bodies who are unable to do the job the tax payer pays them for. Perhaps one day they will get off their fat back sides and actually do some work.

Email to the NMC regarding Ward 87 Nurses.

----- Original Message -----
From: Rita Pal
To: Mark Mallinson ; fitness.to.practise@nmc-uk.org ; midwifery@nmc-uk.org
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:36 PM
Subject: Re: Formal Complaint regarding Sister Paula Wright based at North Staffordshire NHS Trust


Mr Mallinson,

RE: North Staffordshire NHS Trust. Concerns regarding Ward 87 and nurses on the ward.

Thankyou for your letter dated 4th February 2008. Shortly after that I contacted you and left a phone message. You are yet to respond to this.

I wish to make a few points at this juncture

1. You state " The Nursing and Midwifery Council is unable to forward your complaint in its present form as the Trust employing nurse Wright is at the time of the allegations is unable to identify her" . The documentation within your possession refers to the nurse as " Sister P Wright". Her name was "Sister Paula Wright". The Trust has indeed identified her repeatedly in the document " Review of Standards of Care on Ward 87 Following allegations made by Dr Rita Pal". I suggest you revisit this issue again and obtain the disclosure of the identity of this nurse at the time of this matter. If you are stating that this nurse was never registered and that the Trust cannot identify her then this would be a matter of fraud and reportable to the police. Please therefore clarify this either way.

As we can both read the statutes your employers are governed by, perhaps you may familiarise yourself with. You could if you wish investigate this issue and obtain the identity of this non existent nurse who seems to have been identified in all documents in two reports at the Trust itself.

Council's power to require disclosure of information

25. - (1) For the purpose of assisting them in carrying out functions in respect of fitness to practise, a person authorised by a Practice Committee may require any person (other than the person concerned) who in his opinion is able to supply information or produce any document which appears relevant to the discharge of any such function, to supply such information or produce such a document.(2) As soon as is reasonably practicable after a decision has been made under article 22(5) or (6) to refer an allegation or other matter to a Practice Committee, the Council shall require, from the person concerned, details of - (a) any person - (i) by whom he is employed to provide services in, or in relation to, nursing or midwifery; or(ii) with whom he has an arrangement to provide such services; and (b) any body by which he is authorised to practise, in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, a health or social care profession which is regulated under any enactment.


2. You state " Also the information you have submitted does not indicate that there is any evidence that Nurse Wright fitness to practise is impaired. If your statement is correct, you are making assumptions on a nurse
a. You by your own admission in [1] are making assumptions on a person you cannot identify
b. There would be no reasons for the Trust to have " investigated this matter resulting in actions being taken in accordance to the recommendations of June 2001 Report".

3. I made the complaint as soon as I had the 2001 report disclosed in 2005. I did not make a complaint prior to that as you would not have taken it seriously.

4. You state that the "registrants fitness to practise may be impaired by "lack of competence". It is interesting Paula Wright was incompetent enough to have left an acutely ill patient on the Ward in November 1998 without any nursing support. It is also interesting that there was a wide scale lack of basic care by the nursing staff. Throughout the reports, Sister Paula Wright was criticised persistently for not following prior coaching. Indeed, in 1999 the report stated " Sister Wright is a new Ward Manager and requires coaching to develop the skills necessary to manage the ward". This of course means she DID NOT have the necessary skills to manage the Ward in 1998 when she allowed acutely ill patients to die.

5. My complaint has a wider spectrum of complaint in that the nurses on that ward made false and defamatory allegations against me when I attempted to whistleblow on these negligent aspects of the care they provided. I consider the false allegations made against me by a group of nurses to have been racist in nature.

I put it to you Mr Mallinson that you have not read the basic reports sent to you for the last year or more. The point about "investigation" is entails yourselves contacting the Trust and obtaining full documentation to investigate this issue.

You state that I did not report this to the UKCC at the time. If you look at the last page of the 2001 Report, you will note " Liz Mc Anulty" of UKCC [LM] who was present at the investigation. On the same page they identify Paul Wright as Ward Manager. Perhaps you may wish to turn to this page [46]. If you cannot locate it, I can scan this in for you from the papers you sent me.

I put it to you that the matter was never reported to you because the Trust wish to cover this matter up. That is why the Ward shut in 2005 following questions from the Coroner.

Further to the above, I would like to make a formal complaint
1. Regarding you. Please forward this to your manager immediately. Please confirm you have done so.
2. I would like your absurd decision reviewed because you clearly are incapable of assimilating and analysing the information presented to you. Clearly, a year does not seem to be enough for you to read a few sheets of paper.
3. I would like you to give me the details of your solicitors. Given the unreasonable time frame etc, I believe we do need to issue a pre-action protocol for judicial review against the NMC. I would like to issue a letter of claim.

I have never observed such incompetence in the assessment of a complaint [ that has two reports and one expert report backing it]. As you have delayed matters considerably, perhaps you would be kind enough to respond to this email immediately. May I suggest you read the papers sent to you before dismissing the complaint.

I hope to hear from you. If I do not hear from you , I intend to fax this complaint to all sectors of your offices until such time as you do respond meaningfully.


Regards

Dr Rita Pal

The "Elf" Minister and Bad Boy Bacon

Lord Darzi's Fine Ears
St Mary's Hospital Attire.

We all stand by in amazement at the size of Lord Darzi's ears. They are so large that they flap all the way to the US. At least Witchdoctor is of the view that Lord Darzi has opted for a more robust system of "rating" and turned down iwantgreatcare.org.

Witchdoctor discusses it here.

She says as follows :-

When Iwantgreatcare was introduced many wondered if there was a link with either the GMC, the NHS or both. The GMC have since denied a link. It may be that Lord Darzi is now denying a link on behalf of the government. This is what he says:

“Lord Darzi said: “We will have a Zagat-style guide here. We plan to do that as part of the NHS, providing a guide to hospitals and GP practices. In my hospital [St Mary's in London] there could be a Zagat rating for the colorectal service, in which I work.”

The UK guide would differ from the US Zagat version because ratings would not be provided for individual doctors, but only for the services of which they were a part. “We are not going to rate individual doctors – high quality medicine is a team effort now. Modern medicine is not about individuals any more. It is no longer Professor Darzi and three others [surgeons]. It is a team thing – we follow the same protocols. There will be a Zagat-style guide but not to individuals – that is irrelevant,” he said.”

It is clear that Witchdoctor has made a swift recovery after finding the Irish Wizard in her double bed the other morning. Rumour has it that she didn't know what to do with him. The Irish Wizard had a startling resemblance to Pierce Brosnan. It is of course true that every other Witch would have known what to do with a Wizards wand. It all comes down to magic of course. Apparently, they have a sign that states " Handle with Care". At least that is the message from NHS Exposed Wizard James Landon.Witchdoctor should be relieved that she does not have to deal with Pyjama Man Bulstrode. Rumour has it that a electron microscope failed to find the Bulstrode leg. Bulstrode had managed to convince the world that there was no leg length discrepancy between Bad Boy Bacon and him. All boys overestimate apparently. At least, those who are paid by the GMC do.

I suspect Witchdoctor is quite correct about her assumptions regarding the Elf Minister dropping Bad Boy Bacon. Must have been the minority leg length. Dipsticks are often lay abouts. Witchdoctor understands dipsticks only too well.

Exceedingly Good.

The Accountability Cake.
One Piece At a Time.

Remedy UK has finally taken the plunge and made the complaints to the General Medical Council. The details of the formal complaints made against the architects of the MMC/MTAS fiasco can be read here. We have covered it here.

Remedy UK's website states as follows

"We have written a detailed outline of the practical impact of the SSR/MTAS failings on the selection process, the consequences of the SSR/MTAS flaws on patient care, junior doctors, and NHS finances. We have also provided a series of public statements to demonstrate that these events have damaged public confidence in medicine in the eyes of the public and amongst other doctors, and have brought the procession into disrepute. And we have listed a series of specific breaches of the “Management for Doctors” guidance"

So not only is Richard Marks exceedingly cute but he is also exceedingly clever. No doubt the others on Remedy UK are as well. I would say something nice about Fishgoth aka Stephen O Hanlon but I am still waiting for his apology.

The formulation of the complaint deserves a 20/10. Hoping for a bit much regarding the IOP but hey if you don't ask, you don't get.

Well done Remedy UK.

May the force be with all of you.

Stepping Onto the Dark Side

GMC Committee Member

These are the new GMC Committee members who have decided to become bona fide dementors. I always find it rather amusing that many doctors are of the view that they are somehow important if they reach the esteemed hallowed halls of the General Medical Council. I recall Alex Freeman once writing that "it made them feel important".

In my view, any decent human being would never join the likes of the General Medical Council . The issue here is that as a person you really have to desert your faith, your honesty and your integrity when joining the General Medical Council. You then have to wallow in the cesspit of GMC arrogance. This is what Wendy Savage has done in the past.

Essentially, you have to be much like Sam Everington. Sam was featured by Dr Crippen who told him to " Cut the Crap Sam".

Here are the new members

The names of the members are:

• Sir Rodney Brooke
• Professor Jane Dacre (start date 1 July 2009, when Sir Graeme’s term of office expires and he steps down from the Council)
• Dr Sam Everington
• Ms Sally Hawkins
• Dr John Jenkins
• Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
• Ms Ros Levenson
• Dr Malcolm Lewis
• Mr Robin MacLeod
• Professor Rajan Madhok
• Dr Johann Malawana
• Dr Joan Martin
• Mrs Suzanne McCarthy
• Professor Jim McKillop
• Professor Trudie Roberts
• Mrs Ann Robinson
• Mrs Enid Rowlands
• Professor Peter Rubin
• Dr Mairi Scott
• Professor Iqbal Singh
• Professor Terence Stephenson
• Ms Anne Weyman
• Mr Stephen Whittle
• Dr Hamish Wilson

Details of the members can be reviewed here.

The GMC of course shows clearly that they approve of the actions of Prof Trudi Roberts. Trudi of course is the Dean of Leeds Medical School who has never held anyone accountable for the suicide of a final year medical student. The name Amir Mahmood may be familiar to her. The GMC of course will over look these issues. We should observe how many doctors subjected to GMC procedures will commit suicide with Trudi as committee member.

Secondly, Prof Terence Stephenson hit the headlines sometime ago in his stance for child protection doctors. There were secret talks in PACA regarding their plan to infiltrate the General Medical Council. My source who has infiltrated PACA tells me that a few plans are afoot. It is quite convenient when those in PACA have to agree to a confidentiality agreement to be part of "the group". Their pitiful confidentiality agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on since they have about 7 leaks. I should declare my conflict here - I was never allowed to be part of the discussion group on PACA. Of course, I am not stupid and I always manage to obtain reliable intel.

Because the vast majority of names on PACA are anonymous, no one can determine whether Prof Stephenson is a PACA member or not. If so, we wonder if PACA will be used as a secret cell for guilty doctors and if those guilty doctors will then be "let off" at the GMC. Actually, it is no different from Scientology or freemasonry really :). It is also very true that journal articles are written by members of PACA but no declaration of their membership of PACA is made. Perhaps it isn't a conflict of interest. Perhaps the word "conflict of interest" only applies to Timothy David and not members of PACA.

Good to see the token Asian there for the GMC to make up for the ethnic mix :). Bit like the General Medical Council has a picture of a black or brown person on their website to "show" they have a regard for equality.

Fools Rush In

Witchdoctor Found This
In Her Double Bed This Morning

In dedication of Witchdoctor over this period leading up to Halloween, I am featuring her excellent posts. Witchdoctor is a lucky bunny because she isn't married to Neil Bacon. So, she should actually count her lucky stars. Indeed, every woman in the UK should count their lucky stars. Even getting divorced from Neil Bacon would not be financially satisfying. No point getting divorced if there is no pot of gold at the end of the tunnel eh.

So, Witchdoctor should be glad that she has a nice irish Wizard tucked up in her bed instead. We have discovered the identity of her irish wizard whom she has been concealing from us. The picture above shows us all why she would wish to keep such secrets to herself. Actually, can I have a nice irish wizard as well Witchy as my mixed [Scottish, Irish and English plus the essential bit of French] guy is threatening to imprison me in his tower of marriage. I must plot an escape at some point but it is the French bit that keeps me more or less tied up.

Anyway, Witchy has mocked iwantgreatcare.org again. This time of course, there is no mention of Pyjama man. Perhaps Witchy has a secret desire to see Bulstrode in his Pyjamas. Second thoughts, we don't want any fatalities.

Witchdoctor states as follows

"But, unlike eBay, Iwantgreatcare comments are anonymous. The question is: how anonymous is anonymous? Iwantgreatcare.org will have access to enough information to identify the individual. Probably most doctors who know their patients well, would immediately be able to work out very easily who was responsible for bad feedback. There will have been an incident. Patients may feel they are well hidden among 2000 other patients. Not so. They may for example be only three or four patients in the practice who have had significant problems with a particular doctor, and whose personality is such they would leave negative feedback on a public site. The doctor will have a pretty good idea who the patient is. In any case, most patients will talk about it to someone and, if a case of defamation follows, information will leak.

Anonymous my foot!

Firstly, nothing IS anonymous on the internet. Lets get that straight. Secondly, anyone can be tracked down via their IP address. One very annoyed blogger found this out earlier on this week. No doubt she still has steam puffing out of multiple ears and is still attempting to locate her broomstick to teach me a few lessons in sweeping. Nevertheless, it proves a point. Secondly, there is case law about this. Motley Fool was to discover this the hard way. The Register covers the lack of anonymity.

"Benjamin was unmasked by a court order compelling Motley Fool to reveal the details it held on the poster known as "analyser71". The IP address associated with his postings was then traced back to a computer at his then employers, Kyte Fund Management"

Wikipaedia covers it briefly here.

In 2007, it was the BBC's turn.

"It is believed to be the first time that the BBC has been told to hand over such information by an order made under the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction in connection with online postings, and came before a similar order against in another case involving Sheffield Wednesday last week"

So Norwich Pharmacal as a case law is fairly powerful.

Of course, what amuses me is that sometimes ago a number of doctors hid their profiles on a doctors only website. This was covered by Dr Rant. The problem here is that the Doctors Only website can be compelled by any court to disclose the identity of that person. Their log in IP address would be enough to track them down. Secondly, while the GMC is not on the list of RIPA organisations, the Department of Health is.

Of course, this has all been mentioned before to no avail.

Neil Bacon is at a high risk of being sued one day. One court case could put him [ and any patient or public] out of business. He knows that from past experience.

Dr Raj Persaud. The Mocking Bird Observatory

When I was a teenager, I had read all of Dickens' novels by the time I was 12. I then continued to read - To Kill a Mocking Bird. The Gregory Peck film is probably the closest adaptation anyone will get to the excellent book. The point about many of Dickens characters as well as the characters developed by Harper Lee were tales of social injustice and the effect of assuming people's guilt even before they have been tried. The stigma of an assumption of "guilt" is an interesting thing. These themes were further developed in the play - An Inspector Calls.

I speak of these books because I often think about how fate works on people who were initially in judgment and part of that crowd who assume "guilt" . Many people mocked the fact that I had been in trouble with the General Medical Council in 2004. The biggest assumption of course is that 99 percent of doctors assume that their colleagues who face the GMC should be stigmatised. There is also an assumption that where there is smoke, there must be fire. Raj Persaud of course was no different. 2004 was a good year for him. He was famous, he was rich and he had the ability to look down on others from a great height. I was simply a doctor trying to defend myself and protect my job.

During 2004, I was in the middle of a human rights case with the General Medical Council. I had sued the GMC for their covert investigation on the basis of a typographical error and one letter criticising the GMC's substandard conduct. The GMC had found to be leaking this information to all and sundry. The GMC had questioned my mental health. That is what happens when you say the same things as Dame Janet Smith but in less of an "English Haberdasher tone". They later apologised for the distressed caused or at least Blake Dobson apologised.

I had gone to Persaud to request that he helped me with this serious problem. I was concerned about the Totalitarian element of this. Persaud and I ended up having an argument on the phone. His mocking bird of a secretary had her nose raised even further to the morning air. He mocked me for being in trouble with the General Medical Council. Actually, he didn't care about my predicament. In turn, I dropped the phone down on him, end up in court 2 weeks later and beat the shit out of the General Medical Council. Part of my hard work towards the GMC case in those two weeks was due to the anger I had towards Raj Persaud. In my comparator list, I had used 9 doctors who had a mental illness and were not subject to a covert inquiry. One of those doctors was Dr Mike Shooter ex President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and friend to Persaud. The GMC had no defence to this.

I hated Persaud's condescending, negative attitude towards me. The sort of attitude that is intended to make you feel like a speck of dust.

These days, Persaud is a discredited psychiatrist who was suspended off the GMC register for 3 months due to his taste for cutting and pasting. He recently resigned from his prized job at the Maudsley. He has been removed from many media spots. Even though he had no sympathy for me, I felt he was dealt with very harshly by the General Medical Council. A warning would have been enough. Nevertheless, his fall from grace is interesting and a far cry from 2004. What is the most worrying part is that he is now a target for the Scientologists and I would never wish this on my worst enemy. I am the last person who should have a sense of pity or sympathy for him. I have a lot of sympathy for Persaud's predicament. I didn't rate his material in the media but that was because I used to be a practical shrink and he was a theoretical one. I tried to make a difference to my patients and he just talked about it.

Persaud and Fiona Godlee were both in the same year at University College London. Even she never publicly stood by him showing us all that "friends" really are around only when you are rich, successful and riding on air.

No one is around when you sink. Persaud found this out the hard way. It never pays to be a mocking bird.

Further details on Scientology is listed here. Penny Mellor a Scientology Award Winner was complainant to the GMC against me. She uses tactics identical to the Church of Scientology listed as the " Attack the Attacker" policy.

Paices Backwards

My heart really isn't in this Paice complaint anymore. It is probably because as days go by I am starting to dislike the entire medical profession for their arrogance and unhelpful nature. I am also starting to look upon regulatory bodies and authorities with contempt. As time goes by, I am starting to become more distant. I am also beginning to care less and less about doctors. Perhaps this is simply the evolution of a whistleblower. I find myself gradually caring less and less and practically dissociating from the issues in medicine and I find my mind gravitating towards the issues I found interesting prior to medical school.

For the first time I ignored a Facebook invite from a ex medical friend of mine from Kings College London. I recalled her making numerous judgments regarding me in 1998 during the period of whistleblowing. That is what many people do. Sit, judge and talk in conversations but are largely ineffective. I don't envy her perfect life of course. I simply regret the fact that I had to discover how vacant and superficial people in medicine actually are. It isn't in their makeup to actually be helpful. In the end, I didn't actually care what happened to her and I deleted her Facebook invite. And this is exactly what I do with friends from the past. I delete their emails or ignore them. I suspect it is probably a way of moving on. I have this theory, the less medics I have in my life, the happier I am. There is probably some truth in that.

Here is the response from the crummy General Medical Council on the Paice/Needham Complaint. My view, I think Richard Marks or Gordon Caldwell should take over this complaint and fight it to the end. That said, it will probably end up being me. In the end, you wonder why this is being fought - for a profession who are effectively quite happy to stand by. Do my priorities lie there anymore? Probably not.

----- Original Message -----
From: David Patterson (0161 923 6426)
To: Rita Pal
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 10:16 AM
Subject: RE: GMC Complaint by Dr Rita Pal


Dear Dr Pal


GMC Reference: I1/220900958

Thank you for returning the completed consent form.

I have provided Dr Paice and Professor Needham with a copy of your complaint and given them a chance to comment on the issues you have raised. Please note they are not required to respond but that if either does comment, you will then have a further chance to respond. I will also send a copy of your complaint to their employers so that they are aware that we are considering a complaint about them.

I will write to you again shortly if Dr Paice or Professor Needham makes any comments on your complaint or, if not, to update you on the progress of our investigation. In the meantime, I ask for your patience whilst the GMC collects all the information it believes is necessary to make its decision. With regard to your request, as far as I am aware the GMC issues guidance only on matters that relate to Good Medical Practice and copies of all GMC literature is freely available via our website: http://www.gmc-uk.org/.



Yours sincerely



David Patterson

Investigation Officer

Fitness to Practise Directorate

General Medical Council

The Blogging God IS BACK

Today must be the day when the medical rebels have returned back from their holidays, their numerous affairs and their jobs in the NHS.

Heart throb Dr Crippen is back in the hotseat.

There is a bad rumour circulating around the blogsphere that Dr Crippen has been stuck in the Seychelles with the above lady. We have no idea whether this lady is Mrs Crippen yet. Dr Crippen is the blogging God. Press releases out today states that he was studying for his refresher CPDs in anatomy. He assures us that at his age he did nothing in the Seychelles but STUDY.

It is a tough life Crip, someone has to live it eh!

Welcome back Crip. I have missed you!

The Top Medical Blogger IS BACK. The Ferret Returns

Ferret Up an NHS Drain Pipe

As Halloween draws near, this is the week we feature Witchdoctor's posts. Today, she tells us that Ferret is BACK.

Ferret's website contains some excellent material. He gives the NHS, a run for their money in his usual intelligent and inquisitive way.

Stupidity

Just Beg For Your Job Back

Today, Jobbing Doctor has been persuaded to place a correction related to Dr Boadman's case at Leamington Spa.

Dr Boardman's stupidity never ceases to amaze me. She has a Trust waiting to gobble her up then spit her out. She knows the implication of "grovelling" on the powers that be including the General Medical Council. Yet, she grovels to the higher echelons of power. I have no idea whether this is just an Indian trait or a consultant trait or whether she is just blind to the future.

Does she have any self respect left?

Actually, lets expand that - does any doctor have any self respect these days? Do they have enough self respect to stand by their actions and fight?

Dr Boardman is also of the view she can "Control" what is said about her blogwise. Of course, she can't. I for instance know her Trust has a poor record of Data Protection and was found guilty by the Information Commissioner for breaching the Freedom of Information Act. Given those issues, the accusations against Boardman is really pot calling kettle black.

Jobbing Doctor is a softie and a sucker for a sob story. I don't blame him. The bloggers jumped on this bandwagon without so much as a cursory look at the documentation. I can understand that. Afterall, they all wanted another Dr Scot Jnr to fight for. Boardman's tale had nothing to do with whistleblowing in the end. While the accusations against her are minimalist, the matter is highly complex. Her situation has spiralled. It has also been compounded by her own reaction and decision making related to these issues. The above is one such decision.

Even if she is/or is given her job back - can anyone have any respect for someone who either grovels or begs? I have no idea. Maybe, it is the done thing these days - to simply beg until your problems go away. Perhaps that is what they teach doctors at medical school - to beg to managers, Trusts, the GMC even when you are in the right. What a sad state we are all in.

In my view, Boardman owes the entire medical profession full details of everything she is accused of prior to commanding their support. Incidentally, should Boardman or her followers email me to remove this post, it will never be removed. She has though arranged the removal of a number of other posts that were written.

I suppose the next move would be to cry at the GMC or perhaps even at the feet of the Trust then? Thats alright, a lot of men have lent Dr Boardman their hefty shoulders to cry on. The sooner she learns to fight, the better it will be for her.

Gordon Caldwell her supporter likes to read the books of the great philosophers of the past. Here is are a few quotes I remembered

"Fear has its use but cowardice has none".

"Cowards can never be moral"

Mahatma Gandhi

Not Shai at Roy-ing a Sinking Ship

Dr Shai Roy - Batting For the Wrong Side

This is the week leading up to Halloween. During this time, we shall feature everything to do with the most famous Witch in the Medical Blogsphere - the Witchdoctor. Witchdoctor flew into the medical scene some years ago. Since then she has cast the good witches spell upon those who are wicked warlocks. Witchdoctor's wry and cutting remarks have shaken and stirred the profession. Witchdoctor was of course involved in strategic campaign to reinstate Dr Scot Jnr.

One such wicked warlock that Witchdoctor has monitored is Neil Bacon. Neil reputedly is 3/4 flying pig as he makes promises he cannot keep. Witchdoctor has a fascinating collection that involves the audit trail of the Flying Warlock Pig's failure rates. Witchdoctor has listed her results on iwantgreatcare .

Witchdoctor Studies the Insignificant Prof Bulstrode
Illustration by JM

Witchdoctor has gone to great lengths to study the stumpy Humpty Dumpty associate of Neil Bacon. He was of course none other than the man with the large mouth and microscopic brain cell, Prof Chris Bulstrode. Bulstrode was dubbed as the Pyjama man, probably because no one could understand why he slept through all the GMC Committee meetings. Bulstrode was the Flying Warlock Pig's mascot. Perhaps in future iwantgreatcare would opt for a prettier version.

In an effort to gain more credibility, a third brain cell has disclosed his identity. He is none other than Dr Shai Roy. If you look up this man on Google UK, you see this. My good friends Jobbing Doctor and Witchdoctor seem to have taken over this search term. So, during my lunch hour today, I decided I would join them at the cyberplayground.

We hope the Trust Shai works for will include our views in Dr Shai Roy's appraisal. Shai Roy by the looks of things seems to be a Bengali Babu. I could be wrong. Most Bengalis like me tend to be tigers and stand independently but the men are often rather on the wimpy side. For a start, at the tender age of thirty, we doubt that there has been any neuronal growth for us to even value what he says. He clearly has no insight into iwantgreatcare.org and seems to negligently overlook its flaws. Mind you, if his drive is money, it is a good motivator for him to overlook anything. Shai Roy probably likes to mix with the famous, likes to get his name in lights and perhaps this starry eyed view has got to his head. It is the sort of thing that Umesh Prabhu does, becomes the token Indian of the medical establishment.

The media chosen by Shai was the local tat newspaper. As Dr Bacon's credibility is now in the mud, I suspect Shai Roy has been enlisted to provide back up....

Dr Roy, who trained as a doctor at Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, said:

"We are running this campaign because we want to celebrate great care in Coventry and Warwickshire.

"Local people know who the best GPs are and the best hospital doctors. We want to make that more transparent.

"We need local communities to add their doctors, hospitals and PCTs. We want to help local Primary Care Trusts undertake a complete revolution of heath information."

This is a large fib. The real translation is that Shai Roy's Titanic Project has hit an ice-berg. Having hit an ice-berg, Shai is trying to tout for customers to save Neil's failing business. So lets see, Shai Roy as a junior doctor is attempting to recruit NHS patients to fill up his poxy tatty little website in cyberspace. While he is at it, he doesn't tell said patients that the website misleads them. Has he actually asked the doctors he refers to above to see if anyone objects to their personal data being abused like this? Of course, Shai hasn't.

Shai does not tell the newspaper that Neil's tatty little tarot shop does not verify the data presented on their website. There is no verification system so anyone can lie. The newspaper article quotes a GP

Dr Grant Ingrams, a Coventry GP and BMA representative, said:

"In principle it's a good idea to give patients a chance to rate their doctor.

"But it has to be very carefully moderated to make sure what goes on there is fair. You only need one bad comment and it could affect your livelihood.

"When I last looked at the site it had doctors on it who had died or retired. Many doctors are not even listed - I am still not on it."

Neil Bacon has never in his life given a flying f**** about patients or their problems. Shai and Neil are now both misleading the public with their website. The patients just have to read the small print to note how the website is not "completely transparent" about what they intend to do with their data. Shai also does not tell the doctors that a comment on the website can and will be used at the GMC if required. He does not inform the public that the Information Commissioner has recieved a number of complaints about Neil Bacon and iwantgreatcare.org.

I should point Shai to the GMC's Guidance but he certainly would not want the General Medical Council to pounce on him for misleading the media on the safety issues of iwantgreatcare.org.

The drive for money is an interesting thing - Dr Roy and Neil Bacon are desperate men attempting to save this sinking ship. It is only a matter of time before the website is dead. Jobbing Doctor, I, Dr Grumble, Witchdoctor are all watching by the wayside while guzzling our popcorn. When the website sinks, we are all going to have a party.