Ward 87: Paices Backwards

Saturday, 25 October 2008

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

1 comments:

Dr Liz Miller said...: Well done Rita, at the very least you will have upset their breakfasts

It is difficult to believe in doctors when it seems that so many of the problems that face the NHS, healthcare and doctors in difficulties are iatrogenic.

Chocolate anyone?; 26 October 2008 at 05:15

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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.

Ward 87

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Saturday, 25 October 2008

Paices Backwards

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