Struck off and Die. Rough cut, Sexy and Hot

When I was at medical school, a number of us girlies had a huge crush on Struck off and Die. I was included in this group. We all went crazy each time Struck off and Die appeared anywhere. Indeed, if we could have got time off from our lectures at UCL, we would have gone to their theatre doors, mobbed them, stripped their shirts, tied them up in our stockings and dragged them home with us. Sadly, we had to behave ourselves. Struck off and Die consisted of Phil and Tony [ with some accessories]. They burst into the medical scene and took the piss out of the medical profession so much that none of us took our seniors seriously. This medical duo was the most successful team in history. They had us all rolling on the floor laughing. For us, medical school was no longer miserable. It was a series of piss takes, of adapting the Struck off and Die humour and it was about two men making us believe that there was humour in everything.

Their tapes were copied in multiples and circulated around the girls. We loved Struck off and Die possibly because they were not only "hot" but extremely witty [a rarity when it comes to men]. While we attended lectures, we had our Walkmans on listening to Struck off and Die and not the actual lectures.  Professor Woolf and his boring pathology lectures was switched off until the bit where we could collect the handout. Phil and Tony influenced all of us. Overnight, fun was injected into our drab medical school.

When I grew up to be a whistleblower some years later, I wrote to Private Eye and was finally emailing a sexpot - Phil Hammond. This is one of the perks of whistleblowing - I get to fraternise with some devilishly handsome and talented men. Of course, Phil is not only sexy by email but my mates who checked him out and sized him up at his show tell me that he still retains his hotpot, sexpot persona. No one is really sure what part of Phil's anatomy is the sexiest. I decided upon his brain, possibly because I haven't been given the opportunity to examine the rest. Actually, we don't care whether some woman has caught Phil in her fishnets, and is examining him 20 times a day, the important thing is this - we get to practise our observational skills. Tony has apparently become a "Lovie" and is wallowing around with the rich and famous. With his dark hair and gruffly voice, no doubt he remains irresistible to womankind.

For two years, I have grovelled and begged Phil for a autographed picture of Struck off and Die. I told him that the preference really was a picture devoid of clothing. To the common man - this was a request for the Full Monty. Anyhow, shy boys tend to remain shy so I finally got the above emailed to me this morning. 

I am of the view that if you work hard at anything you end up getting it. This meant nagging Phil for months and like all men, they have to give up sometime. The Struck off and Die tapes still remain somewhere on the net. It is a great shame that no one actually develops this into CD/DVD status. The sense of humour sparkles on there and I still believe it was the best thing to hit the United Kingdom. Phil and Tony were at their best and they ripped through the medical profession further than any other medical scalpel. 

I still love their sense of humour. Its sassy, it's dirty and it's sharp. 

Here is hoping that Struck off and Die [Gold] returns on CD or DVD or any other form. For now, Phil Hammond is on tour - for details check out his website here.

Good Pasta

It has indeed been a strange week. I discovered that my best friend from university is now a famous photographer. We had lost touch for more than 20 years and I was so proud of her. I realised what a difference she had made to my thinking patterns and how she potentially taught me to think out of the box. This is the wonderful thing about art students. They tend to view the world in a different way, a kind of beautiful way. My friend was known for her pasta. While she would wait for her one lecture a week, while the rest of us slogged our guts out in the lecture theatre, my friend ended up feeding all of us. Believe me, when you are tired and overworked, some good pasta does not go amiss. Out of the disastrous friendships I have experienced with doctors, my friendship with this girl was a welcome reminder of how good times were. The difference was that she did not judge me - just accepted me for who I was. That's important in any friendship. So, yes, I have fond memories and the more I contemplate my friendships with many art students, the more I realise that the medical culture was never suited to me. There is honestly something dysfunctional about it. I miss a certain type of person. The type of person that views the world with a pleasant, sympathetic eye rather than the crass vision developed through the medical lens. 

On the other side of the coin, I heard that another whistleblower was being prosecuted by the General Medical Council. I am still not sure what planet the GMC are on. Why on earth do they do this to honest, decent junior doctors. Doctors often believe that they will eventually be vindicated and wait patiently. That time never comes. As soon as the clawed hand touches your career, you are effectively finished. Any other view is essentially denial. In the end, the GMC does not look on whistleblowers with sympathy. Their modus operandi is to protect  the establishment. Yes, I am sad about this. I think some juniors deserve a break. The GMC does not share that viewpoint. Kindness is not in their vocabulary. This is what is so dysfunctional about them. The GMC would walk over the dead. Indeed, they frequently do. 

Lansley's Cosmetics

No substance beyond Lansley's Cosmetics. 

Those of us who are not new to the business of whistleblowing understand that the changes proposed by Andrew Lansley  are essentially a pile of pants. This is the new consultation document. Of course, there is no point in sending your view point in because the Department of Health and Coalition Government have already cherry picked their favourite half wits. These half-wits are largely the British Medical Association and their sheepdog Hamish Mildew. On the patients side, the coalition government have cherry picked the Patients Association. For all of you who don't know, the Patients Association is a barrister aligned with Common Purpose and a Freemason in the form of Sandy Macara. The man who essentially runs some of it is barely out of medical school. Anyhow, these are the advisers to El Gov at present. Oops I forgot Public Concern at Work - whose only concern is to harvest whistleblowers so that their concerns don't see the light of day. They work with the Department of Health [ admitted by Nicholson himself]

It should be noted that when a number of whisteblowers approached David Nicholson and requested a meeting to discuss improvements for whistleblowers, the Department of Health refused to meet with them. The consultation is therefore rather like a party where no one is actually invited. Gate crashers are not welcome of course. 

The changes by Lansley largely concentrate on the employment contract. For whistleblowers, they would still have to seek a remedy in the courts - and that is a lengthy process. The Department of Health has no recognition of the obstacles faced by most whistleblowers. For instance, you aren't a whistleblower unless your concerns have been vindicated. That is a long haul for most people. Before that has been done, anything could happen - you could lose your job, be referred to the GMC, be disciplined etc. Until and unless there is established evidence to your concerns, no one can actually hold the title whistleblower. Of course, we know  that Count Rubin of the GMC once told the world that all concerns in good faith would be accepted. In the same phase of the moon, the GMC prosecuted a doctor for raising vexatious concerns without proper basis. It should also be noted that I was investigated for 2 long years without my knowledge. Despite internal reports that I had already been vindicated, these were not disclosed to me for 5 more years. During that time, the Department of Health and the GMC gleefully mocked me for having "no basis to my concerns". Having done so, I was subjected to revolving door investigations that no one paid much heed to. If this is mentioned to Lansley, he simple ignores it and walks away.The implication here is that I could not command the title "whistleblower" until I obtained the evidence to vindicate myself. In my view, the cultural attitude of the Department of Health, the BMA and all bodies involved in the National Health Service are the biggest threat to patient safety and whistleblowers. They continue to treat whistleblowers with contempt and are largely dismissive of their concerns, recommendations etc.

The suggestions postulated by Lansley are largely ill founded. The reason for this is that the policy makers have failed to understand the main problems involved in whistleblowing. For instance, contractual changes does not prevent the GMC, the NPSA or any other organisation from harassing the whistleblower under the guise of "public interest". Lansley attempts to make it compulsory for health professionals to whistleblow without addressing the fact that organisations like the NMC [ infamous for their disgraceful treatment of Margaret Haywood] and the GMC [ well known for hounding and abusing whistleblowers] have failed to protect whistleblowers. The Medical Act is all supreme. The main mothership is still free to attack any whistleblower - at anytime and any place.

The changes proposed by Lansley are largely cosmetic. To the uninitiated, it will appear that El Gov is being pro-active about whistleblowers. In reality, it is nothing but lip service. This is the government who is reluctant to call a Health Select Committee Review on Whistleblowing with a view to developing proper solutions based on evidence. Perhaps they fear the fact that all the UK's skeletons will fall out of the closet in one go. 

I remain unimpressed with Lansley's proposals.  I also remain unimpressed with the attitude of the Coalition Government who are certainly unilateral decision makers developing policies with their clique. Until the government is ready to develop come kind of communication with ALL whistleblowers, it is unlikely to develop robust policies to protect the whistleblowers. Had these changes been in place in 1998, it would not have protected me. Lansley's problem is that he is listening to the wrong people.

No doubt Lansley wishes to bring these changes in so that he can tell the Mid Staffordshire Inquiry " look, its all changed now". Of course, that is the modus operandi of all organisations. Each year they tell us that circumstances are better for whistleblowers and each year there is another scandal. This is just another one of the establishments manner of pretending that "all will be well" so that there is no scrutiny of the past. Without scutiny of the past, there is no feedback mechanism for improvement. Without a logical approach to the assessment of whistleblowing, Lansley will always be flogging a dead duck.

[ For all those who have asked me - No, I have no intention of contributing to the consultation. The reason for this is because Lansley ignored my last set of suggestions. There is no reason I should waste my time on a government that does not listen and one who continues to mislead the public] 

Andrew Marr's Father in Law

Andrew Marr's Father in Law in Action.

I quite like Andy - that was until I got two phonecalls informing me that I was apparently like this

"A lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed, young men sitting in their mother's basements and ranting. They are very angry people" 

Andy has now alienated the entire population of bloggers and it is quite easy for us citizen journalists to fill the internet with negative material about him. We shouldn't talk about Andy's skinny frame, his receding hairline, his large nose and his ability to do his bit to protect a failing profession. It is of course time that the mainstream media understood that citizen journalists are here to stay. We are often more astute and more intelligent about many aspects of the subject we intend on covering. We might not be as eloquent with the words but this is the land of free speech. If we asked Andrew Marr about Ward 87 - he wouldn't have a clue. Neither would he understand what the salient features were. Me thinks Andrew is feeling insecure about his own status and that of his journalist colleagues. We won't mention the fact that some of the BBC journalists/and others steal our material and don't credit our blogs. Yes, we have logs too and know exactly who is reading, cutting and pasting and what articles end up in the mainstream media. Perhaps the public are just fed up of being given the usual streamlined rubbish. May be they don't like being talked down to and spoon fed anymore. In addition, mainstream journalists just don't make good bloggers - you have to  be a certain type of rebel. And Andrew Marr himself just doesn't cut it on the blogging dance floor.

Andy was once a member of the Socialist Campaign for Labour Victory. It is interesting that his views on bloggers are identical to that of Tony Blair and Hazel Blears.

Marr  is married to the daughter of Lord Ashley of Stoke. That is quite interesting because I once received  a letter from Lord Asley of Stoke who couldn't give a flying "F" about Ward 87. Indeed, he told me that he was too ill to deal with that kind of thing. A week or two later, he was spotted by me asking questions at the House of Lords. I have a lot of Labour peers telling me that they are "ill". I wonder why.Indeed Lord Morris of Manchester historically told me he was ill. Illness is quite common at the House of Lords then. Of course, if Andrew Marr had not opened his bald brain and spewed so much clap trap, we wouldn't be scrutinising his father in law's letter on Ward 87.

Anyway, having said he was ill in November 2008, Lord Ashley can be spotted on the 12th November 2008. Then he appears again on the 24th November 2008 and then on the 25th November 2008 he was in fine fettle. Here he is all the way to 2010. Of course, the man from the BBC who visited this blog on his iphone yesterday would have missed this entry. I just thought it was important to add this part of Lord Ashley's "ill health". Yes, I have had alerts set up for" Lord Ashley" from the internet for 2 years now :). I was just interested in the health and welfare of the House of Lord as Lord Darzi performed CPR there sometime ago. Apparently, the place even has a defib. Perhaps Lord Darzi could tend to Lord Ashley's "illness" that precludes him from dealing with Ward 87 [ on his patch]. Perhaps the diagnosis is hypersensitivity type 1 to whistleblowers.

I wonder what would happen if I asked Lord Ashley of Stoke for a "sick note" from his GP.

The Mafia

Family is important. If we look at the Mafia, we find that they know what brotherhood is all about. They may on occasion be on the wrong side of the law but they are often on the right side of supporting their friends. The problem I find is this - in the UK, who in the realms of bureaucracy is on the right side of the law?  Laws are broken every day and few pay much attention.

There is therefore something charming about the mafia - they know what family means, they accept each other and they fight for each other. In 2007, the Ten Commandments of the Mafia were found. My two favourite actors are Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. I was brought up on movies like Scarface and The Godfather. Th Mafia has been made a legend by Hollywood. Apart from their reputation, their existence and survival is down to their allegiance to each other.

There is something admirable about the manner in which the Mafia protect one other, take care of each other and will always be there for their brother. It is much like family. Compared to the UK's medical profession, the Mafia probably has more integrity about it. I say this with a great deal of respect for the utter selfishness that exists within the profession today. Most would see their colleagues deteriorate and die and not lift a finger.

The lack of cohesiveness and support for their whistleblower is evident especially if that person is not quite "like them". By "them" you have to have the status, the kudos and the style. Times have changed a little because Kim Holt managed to garner some king size support for her campaign. Not that she will get anywhere with the campaign or the litigation but at least she is trying and at least people are supporting her. So perhaps aspects of the medical profession is slowly changing. Perhaps things have moved a step forward in that support can be garnered once the whistleblower is in the public eye.

Then I believe that most of the support for Kim is largely due to the maximum publicity and I suspect everyone wants a piece of the cake. Few whistleblowers command any level of support. The same appears to have happened with numerous whistleblowers who are not high profile. By comparison, Margaret Haywood inspired legions of nurses, doctors and the public - yet she did not whistleblow in the same circumstances as others who raise concerns. The media can play a large role in gathering cosmetic support.

So, the distinct lack of support [which is the reality of the situation] is telling of our times. On one hand, the BMJ and its associated publications crows about improvement in the system. In private, they would never associate or fraternise with a whistleblower, never mind sit on the same table as them. Pariah is the buzz word and mud sticks.

All the whistleblowers I have spoken to have at some point in their lives faced professional isolation. For those who are naturally socialites, it bothers them a whole lot. Indeed, this aspect can be crippling to them on occasion. I am not sure why professional isolation didn't quite bother me, possibly because my friends are all from the arts. They tend to be more human and supportive than those in medicine. I was trying to explain to a friend that artists tend to look at the world differently and more humanely. In general, they are also more generous with their time. A doctor doesn't have time for anyone.  He or she will always imply that they are the busiest one of them all. A person working in the arts will always make time for important things. I have studied this comparison for many many many years. I often find that this is the reason why many doctors who fall out of line, or off the steps of medical evolution tends to find themselves a little lost. They have little in the way of support from their colleagues - probably because they are all too busy fluffing their egos to similar doctors. If anyone has ever been to a party of doctors - it is often a bit like watching a selection of peacocks showing off.

If you want undying friendship and loyalty, join the mafia. If you want seclusion and animosity during difficult times, become a doctor :). I should though add that you can find many many fair weather friends in medicine. I don't believe that real friendship exists in medicine at all. Medics are too vacant and self centred for that. Quite a lot of relationships are based on opportunism, symbiosis and money. I may of course be wrong :).

The Whistleblowing Stages. Dr Whistleblower is "Mad" "Bad" then "Sad". We won't say she is "right"

One of the biggest problems with whistleblowing is the fact that the first person caught in the net is the one that will be blamed. Raising concerns about patient care is not a simple issue. The NHS is not thankful for it and neither does it even want to correct their problems. They often see the whistleblower as the person who raised as the one who has to be blamed for everything. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. In Stoke On Trent, North Staffordshire NHS Trust tried to deviate attentions from their mismanagement of the ward by accusing me of something I had never done. You then attempt to sort this out and when you do, the organisational response from the Department of Health and the General Medical Council is rather the same. In my case, I suppose the GMC have for years tried to establish that I am somehow a bad doctor. They have had this bee stuck in their bonnet and no matter how many times they have tried to frisk me, its not worked. Its not worked because I am potentially far far more advanced in my thinking patterns than they are. This is sheer arrogance but it is potentially self confidence. I have got out of the GMC's clutches on three occasions. This is not an easy task. I understand full well that the establishment works through the GMC and it is for that reason, the aim was to sink me so I would never recover from it. North Staffordshire NHS Trust and the General Medical Council have not done well out of harassing me with their pointless investigations that went nowhere. The key to anyone who is exposed to these tactics by the establishment is to understand the undercurrent behind the paperwork you have. Psychological analysis of your opponents is vital. There is no point playing the game if you don't understand the rules.

I suppose, they assumed that like every single junior doctor I would quieten down like a little mouse and say nothing. Of course, I am not one to back down to oppression. So yes, its all about having the fighting spirit and learning to accept that you have to fight for what you believe to be right. I think if we all do that with a honest conscience, nothing can touch us. So, first they say you are mad, then they say you are bad  then they start to say you are just sad. I have been through two phases and I am going through the third phase so hopefully the myths about me will soon be dispelled. Peter Wilmshurst once told me that it takes about ten years to be taken seriously despite the fact that multiple pieces of evidence stare everyone in the face. 

For those of you who find the onslaught difficult, you have to always remember that it is just a phase for you to work through and survive. At the end of it, if you are right, you often sit on the top of the mountain ten years later in the gleeful satisfaction that you were right all along. At that point, all those who have harassed you, undermined you, called you names - just seem irrelevant guttersnipe human beings who you then start to pity. I suppose I often look down on a number of people in the higher echelons of power. I believe that respect has to be earned not demanded.

That is probably what in the end is called an element of justice.  In whistleblower land, it is called vindication and we all aim for it.  I am nearly there with it and in my view its taken a long long time. Nevertheless, this is a element that was very important to me on a personal level. And yes, even if it took ten years of hard work, it serves to show the public that the system fails to work even for those who are right about their concerns.

Buffallo Milk and Little India

Once a week, I normally make my way down to Little India. This maybe Southall, Birmingham or Leicester. That is the fantastic thing about being a hybrid Indian. I can and do merge into the crowd. I normally wander around the shops looking at the sparkling things. That is the great thing about Little India, everything sparkles and everything is probably gold. Most Indians try and buy a Mercedes Benz and send their kids to private school. I think my own family did things upside down. In the old days, everyone used to test out how many heads fitted into to a Datsun Sunny. You could tell it was an Asian car by the number of heads. These days, you can tell its a Asian car by the fact that you can't see the driver of the Mercedes Benz. It is normally a short Indian lady trying her best to peer across the steering wheel. This is why I walk on foot when I reach Little India. Its safer that way. 

One of my pleasures in life in the UK is Channel Island Milk. Bar chocolate, I have no specific vices. I do though love milk.

In Little India, there is a delicacy where Indian sweets [ Mittai] is made with Buffalo Milk. It is the most delicious rich delicacy to hit your taste buds since Haagen Daaz ice-cream. The trick is to tell yourself that for each two pieces you eat, you  must ride the exercise bike for 20 minutes. I can of course cope with that. So, it is important to indulge in such things. Before that, I normally make my way to a very small Indian eatery where the plates are cheap but the food is much like being in heaven. For £2.50, I normally munch through a vegetable biriyani while my friends scoff the parathas. So, yes, time off is always important. I love visiting Little India because there are so many things to see, do and eat. For me it is always like walking from a black and white film into a land of colour. While, I am not a sari wearer, neither do I deck myself in gold or own a Mercedes Benz, I think Indian culture has a lot to offer everyone. 

Why prattle on?

One of the most common questions asked of me is this - why do I still talk about Ward 87? Is it because; like many whistleblowers, I can't let go? Is it because, I have a vendetta against the NHS? Is it because, I have nothing better to do? Well, it's none of those reasons. The main reason for prattling on about Ward 87 is to demonstrate to  members of the public that the NHS is currently unaccountable. As it is unaccountable, it is dropping patients like flies and not learning any lessons from its mistakes.

It is also vital to demonstrate that as a whistleblower, you can be right but no one thanks you for sticking your neck out on the chopping board for it to be - errr - chopped off! I was a reluctant and unintended whistleblower. Placed in a situation where there was no other option - I took the only path that was the right one. It was one of those emergency situations and I made the call to save patients. What should have ended with an improvement in the health system escalated into a national controversy.

In the last 10 years, and it has been 10 years - I have found that the only person concerned about the accountability of the hazardous conditions on the Ward was me. My consultants couldn't give a flying F. The man responsible for the fiasco is currently working at a Private Hospital, remains untouchable and is probably engaging in a round of golf. The Chief Executive is minting far more money now than he was entitled to. The patients of course are 6 foot under and the relatives have been kept in the dark about what happened to their loved ones. The GMC of course have better things to do like develop their obsessional compulsive chasing Rita disorder. The CQC is quite mad and the Department of Health just wants to forget I even existed. 

Of course, I do exist and I don't plan on dying unless a large meteor falls down on me tomorrow. So what I want to know is this - where is the accountability that all these organisations crow about. I know it is very easy for the Department of Health to brush this issue aside and say " Ah, that was in 1998 and this is now, we have changed".  I am still waiting for accountability and it has not come. The conclusion here is this - does the Department of Health expect every whistleblower to tolerate what I have been subjected to. If that is so, then I doubt anyone will raise their head above the parapet. Anyhow, I have all the time in the world to sit wait and watch -I would like to see how many years it takes for accountability to be achieved. It is vital not to misunderstand me, I have indeed moved on with many parts of my life - the past is of course part of me and I am simply curious as to why the establishment believes that I will be stupid enough to accept the pitiful trickles of bird food they have thrown in my direction. So after some remote accountability, I can stop talking about Ward 87. 

Personality

Rustom and Preetha on Vocals. Rita in Purple on Piano. 

For those of us into astronomy and space, we tend to understand the finite nature of the world around us. Yes, when I look up at the sky I always think of the fact that a meteor may just fall on me and it would be the end. I also think about how large the universe is and how minor the issue on North Staffordshire NHS Trust really was. I began to think like that in about 1998. I think its the only way I survived through it. Over the years though I have never forgotten or forgiven those who sought out to malevolently shoot me. There is a place in Stoke on Trent - it is up in the hills. From there you can see the stars and the entire lights of the city. During the times of turmoil, I spent large amounts of time there fixing my mind on how to deal with standing on my own. Before North Staffs, I had depended on friends, members of my family and many people. I was potentially a large social cat with legions of acquaintances and friends to speak of. My personality was largely different. I was probably more tolerant, was more likely to waste time on pointless and aimless chit chat and tended not to value life in general.

If you examine a person's psyche, you are essentially what the environment makes you. The environment around you is always a rough terrain in many ways. The decision on how to survive this rests solely on you. This is the case with whistleblowers. Their personality adapts to their environment and there are bound to be some changes. In my case, I was a seriously pissed off bunny 2 years after I raised concerns. This was reflected in my writing and my manner of not really giving a damn about irrelevant people. Being pissed off is of course not a mental illness. This is the biggest mistake made by the General Medical Council really. Then I had the last laugh there. I think authorities cannot expect whistleblowers to remain calm and collected when shit is thrown at them from a great height. This experience is bound to change people in general. 

Nevertheless, there is this huge expectation by Trusts, authorities, members of the public and the medical profession, that whistleblowers have to remain calm and collected despite having their entire livelihood shot to flinders in front of them. For me, I am probably a little more selective in who I associate with. I tend to have a zero tolerance policy for bastards which is probably why I am far more assertive than I used to be. In time, you learn to develop a good shell much like a turtle so few people can penetrate or discover who the real you is. This is of course useful when fighting the authorities. When raising concerns, each authority is generally going to treat you as if you are the scum of the earth. This is because whistleblowers are generally perceived as the scum of the earth.

I cannot deny that whistleblowers don't have mental health problems. This group is probably at a high risk of developing mental health problems. In the end, it is up to the whistleblower whether he or she allows themselves to sink into this particular quagmire. Personally, I think it is a waste of time to wallow in self pity or self destructive behaviour. I cannot deny I have not had low periods in my life, of course I have. My way of dealing with these periods is to understand that they will soon disappear. I tend to stop anything that stresses me. I tend to start watching DVDs, playing music, walking outside and I do take Omega 3. It is about the only thing I do take. Different people have different coping strategies but the most vital aspect of learning about yourself is - knowing what your limitations are and learning to develop methods of dealing with periods that are less than optimal. In psychiatry, there are a number of mood triggers. These may include circumstances or people who lower your mood. For me, I just stop associating with anything that irritates me. I am quite lucky because I migrate to the solitude of my piano during times when I cannot see a solution. The other method to use is to start your housework. I really hate saying this but housework is actually quite good for many mood dysfunctions during a day or the week or even longer. 

Nature is also an excellent way to try and forget the past. For me, forests, plants and flowers are utterly fascinating. It normally takes me back to plant biology when I did my A Levels. Nevertheless, its just wonderful to understand where you fit within nature. In my view, these small things done during the week are probably likely to benefit anyone. My view of the world today is that it is too technological, people have forgotten how to be human and in the end there are many toxic elements around. The expectations of society is one toxic factor to anyone's mental state. Peer pressure is not only a medical phenomena but really something that exists in society to pull us all down to some kind of ground state level. Alcoholism or any kind of addiction is something whistleblowers may indeed be prone to. Medicating your pain is probably what it is called. Alcohol though is a serious depressant and if you need your brain to function but it is sedated - of course you aren't going to be able to think rationally or consider matters logically. My only experience of addiction is chocolate. It was a severe addiction with multiple side effects :). I suspect Thorntons can be blamed for medicating my pain. And its done well really because it saved me from any type of addictions to more harmful substances. I know it got to the point where I just could not function in the morning without at least one shot of Thorntons. Sad but true. At that point, it was time to detox myself ! Since 2007, my chocolate eating ways have become normal - to about once a month. This has helped my bank balance, my weight and my teeth. I can even walk past Thorntons without purchasing a bag of truffles for the next GMC letter I have to formulate. The other notable problem appears to have affected my limbic system. I am not sure why but pre 1998 I was never really into observing the horizon of devilishly handsome men. Since 1998, the entire thing has gone out of control. I have noticed that it worsens during periods when I have to write a GMC letter or material on whistleblowing. I haven't quite figured out that phenomena. In court, I think the misery gets to me the most and I default into this "Lets spot the devilishly handsome barrister". I am not quite sure what I would do if I caught one of these handsome men - probably lock them up in hamster cage and watch them on the wheel no doubt. So yes, even I have to have my distractions and my fix in some way or form. So, for the vast majority of the time, all is well until I am faced with dealing with authority, the GMC or some miserable idiot - after that, I can only try and look at the best in a situation. Normally, that just defaults to good looking men wherever I am. And boy, is the world full of good looking men or what?  So while the chocolate intake has improved, I am not quite clear how to get rid of my collection of  devilishly handsome men. Someone suggested a blindfold. Ummmm..................... perhaps I just have permanent dysfunction of the limbic system caused by Ward 87. Damn!

Shooting whistleblowers on sight. Is it a crime to be a Whistleblower?

Over the years, [ ten years in medicine in my case], I have demonstrated the various instances of doctors and NHS managers believing they have a right to shoot whistleblowers on sight. Of course, in the NHS, no one needs a gun to kill a person's career. No one needs a gun to kill a whistleblower. The usual hatred of whistleblowers is self evident through the behaviour of many doctors. Many feel it is somehow their duty to the state to rid the world of whistleblowers. These notes by me are made online because it is important to play out some tales in full public view. I am not impressed with the rosey view created by the coalition government. I am not impressed by the media's view of whistleblowers. I think they like keeping us all in a "Victim" cage. Poor us, whistleblowers who have no lives, who are obsessed with their cases and who should be pitied. Of course, I view whistleblowers a little differently. They are all highly intelligent individuals, trying to make their way in the world. And if the world of medicine would give them one fucking break - it may well make them more human rather than superhuman. 

I have demonstrated my own experience first with Doctors.net.uk, many of its users felt obliged to refer me to the GMC because they felt that my material was controversial. The problem with playing with me is that I am not one to pity people. As soon as the GMC threatened to unmask the doctors, the complaints were dropped. That was then. These days anonymous complaints are taken up and welcomed by the GMC [ as demonstrated by the Sarah Myhill case]. 

Following that, Sheila Mann, the old hag straight from the Royal College of Psychiatrists  advised as screener to the GMC. She was so desperate to find some element of madness that her high water mark ended up flat on its face. She admitted that a "typographical error"  was the high water mark of my apparent madness. Yes, the entire court was silent in disbelief until the audience tittered.

Of course, it was too late by then because the mindset of the GMC was already well developed. They decided they were going to undermine me, throw out all my complaints to discredit me and following on from that, they were going to somehow establish that they were always right. In ten years, each piece of evidence has proven them wrong. They remain speechless and impotent. The GMC has no answers now. 

Each and every consultant who subsequently found out about my past, shut down on me. We can name legions of them. Most simply did the wisest thing and kept their mouth zipped up. 

Others were led by some kind of compulsion to destroy my earning potential and my livelihood. I have already described Dr Anders Skarsten and his 7 panel mates who decided to support a criminal rather than a whistleblower. Anders was such a slimeball - before he knew I was a whistleblower, he would ring me up in the dead of night complimenting me and fawning all over my work, like some desperate puppy. He  sent  me flowers on my birthday etc. Yes, we all knew why he did all this. It wasn't kindness but then I knew about empty men and desperate male doctors and normally smiled, nodded and walked away. Evolution has never been kind to the development of their mind, emotions and the contents of their trousers. Everything remained tiny apart from their wallet. In those days, I had my own platinum American express so wallets just didn't interest me. 

It all changed of course as soon as he found out about my whistleblowing ways. It is amazing how fast the wind does change. I have these fantasies of standing in the middle of an NHS hospital and screaming " I am an NHS Whistleblower, Get Me Out of Here" :). I often wonder what the reaction would be. It would be just like Skarsten's reaction. At least there were no midnight phonecalls from drunk consultants telling you how wonderful you are. If there was a fly on my wall, it would have observed that I left the phone by the bed while filing my nails and occasionally returned to it and said words like " I agree, absolutely, definitely, you are right". How does one deal with a drunk consultant oncall? I didn't complain, I just hoped it would eventually disappear.

One  of Skarsten's SHOs complained of sexual harassment but the team of shrinks in Northamptonshire did very well to conceal it. Consultants have a excellent manner in which this is done covertly. No junior actually stands a chance in a complaint like that.

He claimed to be depressed at his Employment Tribunal while having detailed phone sex with a girl I knew very well. Perhaps that was just temporary "severe" depression. His 5 year warning at the GMC was given due to an element of pity. The GMC pities people like him. We note that despite his admissions of depression, Dr Sheila Mann, the old hag did not discreetly inquiry into his life or his past. It was a different kettle of fish when it came to me. I have no idea what gives people like her the right to sneak around in my life then admit it in the GMC memos. Her admission of a discreet inquiry is actually historical. Just goes to show the creepy and low levels people employed by the GMC can stoop to. 

Lastly, we have Worcestershire Mental Health Trust who jumped straight into bed with the General Medical Council and decided to join in the party of lying. They deceived the court together after they discovered I was a whistleblower. Deception is common. The GMC engages in it all the time. When people like me expose it, we are called obsessional or disaffected. Worcestershire Mental Health Trust developed a compulsion to shoot me. They had the option of keeping their large nosey snout out of my court challenge with the GMC. Instead, they decided to rub baby oil all over the GMC's body. The GMC was indeed all loved up and for a while it didn't act like a spurned lover. 

When I was cleared, Worcestershire Mental Health Trust and its half crazed management had nothing to say. Having fraternised with the GMC and joined them in sessions of lust, they found themselves in a huge predicament when the very court case they had created was used against them. The two doctors found themselves at the mercy of the General Medical Council. Lying has consequences especially when some of us are fairly good at keeping our eyes open. It is a fantastic irony that the very case law they had been involved in creating was used as an instrument of their downfall. The Medical Director behaved like a rat on a sinking ship. He left his job as MD, has resident GMC hotshot panellist, as examiner and became a "jobbing doctor". Of course, all this would never have happened if they had kept their large snout away from their usual compulsion of shooting the whistleblower. 

So in summary, I believe whistleblowers should have a zero tolerance policy. In my view, those who have tried to harm me in any way have had the same issues reversed back on them. This is not done out of revenge but more out of a principle I believe in. I have carried out an experiment to combat medical mobbing. This kind of high risk tactical manoeuvre cannot be carried out unless you know how to control the situation. It is potentially the only way I lasted in the NHS for 10 years. As a junior doctor, the half life of a whistleblower is dire. I don't believe any junior doctor should ever whistleblow due to these kinds of repercussions. The medical fraternity is close knit and news flies fast. Most doctors believe that whistleblowers should be destroyed and they take great satisfaction in instigating a situation where your livelihood is crippled. The depth of intellectual corruption and wickedness towards whistleblowers is not understood by many members of the public. There has been no change in culture especially in the UK. I doubt there will be much change although the current campaign by Remedy UK brings a ray of hope. 

The above are examples of doctors I have come across. The pattern is largely the same for many whistleblowers. Combating mobbing very early on is extremely important because lack of action is a surefire way to creating a situation of no return. All whistleblowers need to think tactically and psychologically as opposed to being crippled in the victim mode. It is very easy to be crippled by fear of fear itself. The art is to take yourself out of the situation and work out a plan of action that will indeed be of advantage to you. Unfortunately, as demonstrated on this website, my plans tend bear fruit after many many years. That is the nature of the system - it is slow, it is laborious and it takes hard work. The reason it is done by me is to demonstrate  the poor quality of the system we exist in. 

For me, the result is this - I don't recognise the authority of the GMC because it has effectively failed me. I don't have any respect for the medical fraternity because it has been instrumental in attempting to assassinate my livelihood. I don't have very much respect for authority because it has not assisted in this devastating situation. Therefore, despite being an established evidence based whistleblower, no one had any solutions to the repercussions of whistleblowing - so I developed my own solutions the hard way. I look back at the above, and life was meant to be simpler - yet, it became so complex.