Steve Turner

Was there an Assertive Outreach Service involved? Many areas no longer have these.

This is interesting and important, Rob Behrens (PHSO) reminded us all of the Messenger Review in the APPG for Whistleblowing Westminster Round Table Meeting in November 2023.

It's a step forward, but we need to be vigilant, this could easily fall into the pile of endless reviews that lead to nowhere. Senior people's jobs and reputations are at risk, they will fight like mad to protect their positions and (as we see with the Post Office scandal) they will lie.

This tragic case highlights the urgent need for independent external scrutiny of #whistleblowing and a change in the law to protect the public interest.
The Protection for Whistleblowing Bill introduces an #Officeofthewhistleblower to help prevent events like this, where people blew the whistle & were silenced. The Pediatricians raised the alarm and were bullied and threatened with referral to the GMC.
Current whistleblowing legislation - the Public Interest Disclosure Act [#PIDA] - fails everyone, #patients, relatives, clinicians, #healthcare staff, & the public.
The Protection for Whistleblowing Bill [Hl] which passed its second reading in December 2022, proposes the repeal of the current Public Interest Disclosure Act [PIDA], replacing it with an Office of the Whistleblower [OWB]. This would prevent concerns of genuine healthcare whistleblowers becoming buried under an employment issue, and their original patient safety concerns being side-lined.
PIDA is expensive, limited in scope and beyond the reach of most whistleblowers.
PIDA is also overly complex, with cases currently waiting for over 2 years to be heard. Employers game the system to run whistleblowers out of funds. Fewer than 12% of cases that go to the Employment Tribunal win.
PIDA does not protect patients and is not accessible to members of the public who blow the whistle. Currently there is no statutory provision to investigate or address the wrongdoing highlighted by whistleblowers. Many whistleblowers have been denied any protection because they are not workers.

This Protection for Whistleblowing Bill Delivers:

·         Protection for EVERY citizen who is, has been or is perceived to be a whistleblower and those associated with the whistleblower.

·         Mandatory minimum standards for policies and procedures and Investigations of protected disclosures.

·         A new judicial process for deciding disputes arising from whistleblowing.

·         Significant fines and penalties for individuals and organisations that discriminate or retaliate against whistleblowers.

·         Dedicated helplines, Education and Support for the Public and Organisations and an ongoing Public Awareness Campaign to ensure that every citizen knows their rights and how to access them.

I urge everyone with an interest to read the Bill itself and decide on your position based on the facts.
For accurate info. on the Protection for #Whistleblowing Bill read it here: https://t.co/mIE77bjNTV

This is mostly good news for patients & users of services. I believe that the urgent need for this change is an example of what happens when care services are driven by managerialism. By that I mean the unrelenting drive to fit everything into boxes and set up 'one size fits all services', often without any meaningful & thorough consultation with users of services. There are as many approaches to care for people with mental health problems and mental illness as there are people. Discrimination, sanctions, and punitive measures have no place.

I do have concerns about the eradication of 'Police involvement in delivery of therapeutic interventions in planned, non-emergency, community mental healthcare'. This seems an unfair and unnecessary provision, driven by 'managerialism and the need to' box everything off.'

As a mental health nurse, it's my experience that police support can be extremely helpful for patients/users of services in many situations, especially in early intervention, e.g., preventing escalation and in tackling discrimination and harassment of people with mental illness. This is backed up by the views of the people (users of services) I have worked with. To stop this is unfair to those police officers who are skilled at helping people in crisis and in preventing problems before the arise. I'd be interested in the views of users of services and the police on this. 

This crisis has its roots way back. Beginning with the removal of funding for long-term care from the #NHS in the 1980s, the functional separation of #health & #socialcare , the rise of managerialism and the embedding of a cover up culture including victimisation of genuine #healthcare #whistleblowers.

All this has been supported by all governments regardless of party.

A very worrying report, sadly I'm not surprised to read this. As a registered nurse I am concerned about these types of behaviours and attitudes at the top. This has contributed to nurses & nursing organisations in the UK squandering many opportunities to lead on safe & ethical practice & failing to speak out on patient safety. We should be a strong professional group, setting an example.

'Independent' but funded by the DHSC & appointed by the SoS for Health... Isn't that an oxymoron?

'The PSC will be an independent statutory office holder, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and appointed by the Secretary of State.' - Source UK Government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/medicines-and-medical-devices-bill-overarching-documents/medicines-and-medical-devices-bill-patient-safety-commissioner#patient-journey (accessed 28.09.2022)

Another important article behind a paywall, which is linked to longstanding problems. 

This article needs to be opened up to the public. I hope the mainstream media and the regional and local media pick this up.

It's a pity this article is behind a paywall.

In my experience, both professional and personal, CQC reports can bear little or no relationship to the patient care and the culture of organisations. The system is riddled with cronyism. See:  https://on.ft.com/3GVIIgX (sorry this is also behind a paywall).

We need a pro-active, independent, patient-led system to monitor quality & look at outcomes, starting with commissioning, in my view.

Anyone who is familiar with what happened to Dr Raj Mattu, and who was in charge at the time, will know why this story is important. I believe leaders who behave badly and display a 'consistent lack of compassion or respect for people' should be held to account, not allowed to move freely within the NHS.

Dr Raj Mattu (Cardiologist):

Dr Raj Mattu is an internationally recognised cardiologist who worked at University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UCHWT). In 2001 he raised patient safety concerns including when five patients were routinely put in a ward designed for four, which on one occasion this led to the death of a patient.

Following this, over 200 false allegations were made against Mr Mattu. These ranged from questions over his qualifications to charges of serious criminal conduct outside of work. They were sent to the GMC, CQC, the Strategic Health Authority and three different police forces. All of these have been investigated and found to be false. In 2010, ill and suffering from depression, he was finally sacked by managers who questioned the validity of his ailments and found him “unmanageable”.

14 years after first being suspended from his job Dr Mattu won a £1.22 million unfair dismissal case against UCHWT. It is estimated that the full cost of Dr Mattu’s case exceeds £10million.

In 2016 Dr Mattu was awarded the UK Whistleblowing Prize from free speech charity Blueprint.

Interesting. Time to rethink I believe.

Although I work in a vaccination clinic I am against mandatory vaccination, except for international travel where it links to the need to vaccinate as many people as possible across the world. Some people cannot have the vaccines for clinical reasons, and I've sympathy for those few who have had severe side-effects and say 'can I not have my immunity level checked instead? 

Other things that concern me are when people say (or imply) that those unvaccinated don't deserve treatment. That appalls me. Us clinicians are not here to judge, although I can appreciate people's frustration & why this hurts if you have lost someone close. Also, I get cross when people in positions of power (especially clinicians) demand to know why individuals are exempt for wearing a mask (often asking them in non-private spaces). This is because while some are just anti-mask and could wear one, some people have deep rooted problems that mean they can't wear a mask, this may be due to past abuse.

Mandatory vaccination for NHS staff feeds into people's prejudices, in my view.

My experience, which echoes that of many others, indicates that the National Guardian Office us a very bad idea. #FTSU Guardians operate under a conflict of interest as they report to the employer. Also the National Guardian office is impossible to engage with, unless you agree with them. This means the initiative has potential to do harm as well as good.

The #FTSU Guardians in some organisations can be helpful.
I know some #FTSU Guardians who are genuine & who work for organisations that listen & want to change.
Unfortunately other organisations use the Guardians to maintain the status quo. So speaking up to them is like putting your own name on a blacklist, & any #patientsafety issues will be ignored.

I believe in the principle of 'do no harm' which is why I speak out.

If you are looking at this from a healthcare organisation outside the UK and thinking of adopting this approach I'd urge you to study the evidence closely, and look at this from all angles.
 

Is this a signal that the old system of GPs acting as gatekeepers needs changing?

Ref: https://bjgp.org/content/69/682/e294 

A worrying story. Really frustrating that it is behind a paywall. 

Many areas of concern here that need open discussion in order to lead to learning. It's not just the number of investigations that matters, it's the quality of the investigations, and the way they are conducted. This problem is an opportunity if it is brought fully into the open, looked at from all angles and (most importantly ) patients, relatives and carers are fully involved.  

This is a deeply disturbing story. I await the CQC report, and more importantly what happens as a result.

The endless round of investigations, inquiries, recommendations, action plans, reorganisations, appointment of commissioners or 'Tsars' and the associated spin followed by  little or no real change needs to end. Implementation is key.

As a clinician (nurse prescriber) I fully agree that more wide ranging inquests are needed.

It seems wrong to me that stories of this importance are paywalled? 

What a terrible and totally inexcusable waste of public funds.

Will anyone be held to account for this failing? 

This is so sad, I feel desperately sad for Elizabeth Dixon and the family & everyone affected by cover ups of the death of a child .

It is not an isolated incident. The case of Robbie Powell has been subject to a 30 year cover up and remains unresolved. It was Robbie's father Will who first identified the lack of a legal hashtag#dutyofcandour. To this day there is no individual duty of candour. Papers labelled this 'a doctor's right to lie'.

As a clinician I am appalled. 

I should add, this isn't just about doctors, it's all clinicians. I remain deeply disappointed in my profession - #Nursing -for not speaking out.

No #nurse leaders seem interested. I am pleased to be able to teach on this, at least I can do something. #learningfromdeaths #LeDeR

“Stand-alone units”, so-called “hot homes” and 'zoned accommodation' sound like good ideas.

Given the current set up and the lack of a coordinated social care 'system' in England the start point needs to be having a strategy and plan for a radical overhaul of social care. Does this exist? Who leads it ? 

This is really shocking and the full story should not be paywalled in my view.