Ward 87: Asha opts to Gag The Sun

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Asha opts to Gag The Sun

Asha Falls on Eady J's Lap

The Press Gazette today reports that Mohamed Asha, the NHS doctor cleared of a the Glasgow bombing incident is suing the Sun.

Full details can be read here.

"Asha is demanding damages for alleged libel and invasion of privacy over two stories that appeared in The Sun which revealed he was working in an NHS casualty ward under his middle name, Dr Jamil.

According to a writ filed at the High Court by lawyers working for Asha, he believed one story that appeared on 10 August last year headed: "Terror case doc works in casualty" claimed there were very strong grounds to suspect that he will be involved in terrorist bomb plots in future and is an ongoing threat to national security"
As a result of the danger created by stories, he says, he was offered police protection and the hospital had to ensure he was not the sole doctor on duty at night because of his fear of being attacked at work.

According to the writ, Dr Asha claims he was also asked to leave his rented flat and could no longer live in Shrewsbury because of fears for his safety.
He also claimed his neurosurgery training programme had been disrupted after three hospitals were reluctant to employ him.

This should be an interesting day in court where we should get a response as to why a number of reporters witnessed Dr Asha embrace his terrorist friends.

The Daily Mail reported.

"When Abdulla was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions and conspiracy to murder, and Dr Asha was cleared, the two men embraced in the dock"

Of course, it is very interesting to note that the General Medical Council and many databases have the doctors place of work. It is probably a matter of public record these days. The debate may be whether a public sector worker responsible for treating vulnerable people has the right to privacy. Given his obvious attempt to conceal his real name from the public, do they have a right to know who they are being treated by? I would say "yes".

A landmark ruling on Privacy was the disclosure of identity regarding the blogger Nightjack.

Eady J stated

"I do not accept that it is part of the court's function to protect police officers who are, or think they may be, acting in breach of police disciplinary regulations from coming to the attention of their superiors," Eady added.

If anyone else goes to court to seek their rights, the General Medical Council brands them as a vexatious complainant, questions their mental health and conducts a discreet inquiry. Not with Mohammed Asha though. Mr Smooth Operator has got them wrapped around his little finger. Actually, lets put this more bluntly, he has got some very good lawyers who can spin when they want to. Lawyers are of course masters artists at getting their clients off on a technicality.

If the GMC have so much confidence in him, perhaps he should now apply for a job as GMC Committee member or even panelist. He has enough references supporting him.

Dr Mark Jeffries said: "I think that Mohammed is one of the most decent and disciplined people I know. He is a man of integrity.

"He has fantastic dedication to his career and patients obviously remember him. He is without doubt one of the brightest doctors I have ever met and could go on to be one of the top neurosurgeons in the country."

1 comments:

Dr Liz Miller said...: The English libel laws - thin ice, unless you are a corporation the size of Trafigura

Asha should remember Oscar Wilde, Jefrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken who went behind bars because of suing for libel. Even McDonalds ran into McLibel and even the McCanns might come unstuck.

It is a bold man who takes another to court for libel - because unless you can afford a superinjunction, it is a field day for every columnist and blogger on the High St; 19 January 2010 at 13:08

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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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Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Asha opts to Gag The Sun

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