Mid Staffs is Not an Isolated Case

posted on 12 November 2010 | posted in Public Inquiries

The NHS Reform Group have submitted the following to the Mid Staffs Public Inquiry and the Health Select Committee, both of whom are examining the NHS Complaints Procedure.

We are pleased that the Mid Staffs Public Inquiry is now fully underway and we congratulate Ms. Julie Bailey and the rest of Cure the NHS who have worked extremely hard for this to happen.

We are saddened though that the Department of Health issued a statement recently saying that Mid Staffs was an isolated case and saddened that this hospital, which is supposed to be under the guidance of one of the 'top" NHS and Department of Health Officials, Antony Sumara, is still making mistakes with todays news of the deaths of baby boy twins due to a reported mal administration of drugs: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/nov/11/twins-killed-mistake-inquiry-hospital

It has been said, according to the chairman of the public inquiry into the scandal, that patients suffered and died unnecessarily during a disaster in hospital care because NHS bosses and watchdogs failed to step in. But is anything going to change at Mid Staffs and are the NHS bosses and watchdogs still failing to step in elsewhere?

The NHS Reform Group has 162 members that are from all parts of the UK. Each member has experienced the same NHS poor service that is now being highlighted by the Mid Staffs Public Inquiry. Each member has suffered when the NHS bosses and watchdogs use the same techniques to detract from their poor care. Our members have fought solitary battles to achieve Justice - but it is just not there.

There are the placating letters sent from the Hospital to say that 'your case is extremely rare and we can assure you that nothing like this will happen again'. Then when our members just wouldn't go away but went onto the next step of the NHS Complaints ladder, they would receive another placating letter to say that the Trust had investigated and so there is nothing more to be done. Then when our members still just wouldn't go away, the NMC, or GMC or CQC step in as the 'NHS heavies" and say that the Trust has addressed their concerns and 'no further action will be taken'. Then when our members have approached the 'Final Stage" of the NHS Complaints procedure, the Healthcare Ombudsman, who only investigated 356 cases out of more than 22.000 - our members still didn't get Justice as their cases were NOT investigated. The Healthcare Ombudsman wrote effortlessly 'nothing to investigate'.

One of our members received one of these 'template' letters from the Healthcare Ombudsman, but still did not go away and now the Police are investigating his case under the direction of the Coroner and the GMC are conducting a Stream 1 investigation. Did the Healthcare Ombudsman make a mistake or was she just trying her luck to try to stop our member getting justice?

All of these supposed regulatory bodies use various techniques to try to stop complainants, such as writing to say 'we will not be responding to any more of your communications" or they label you as a 'vexatious complainant' as a way of stopping you from getting answers. If by chance, through perserverance, you do get one of the NHS Regulatory Bodies to accept that there have been mistakes made and serious ones at that, they use a very clever sentence to make sure they do not have to bring one of their members before a Court 'due to the passage of time" (we won't be doing anything).

A PALS worker has given an insight to the NHS Complaints Procedure: http://www.nhsreformgroup.com/NHS-Complaints-Procedure-Exposed-by-NHS-Complaints-Handler/44.htm and so has a Former Chair of a PCT: http://www.nhsreformgroup.com/Former-PCT-Chair-States-NHS-Complaints-Procedures-Corrupt/47.htm

In August 2009 the CQC cited 7 NHS Trusts as having High Unexpected Death rates:

Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals trust,
Basingstoke and North Hampshire foundation trust,
Mid Staffordshire foundation trust,
Pennine Acute Hospitals trust,
Salisbury foundation trust,
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals foundation trust and
University Hospitals of Leicester trust.

Each of these 7 NHS hospitals gave a plausible explanation about why they were failing in the Nursing Times piece: http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice-clinical-research/clinical-subjects/patient-safety/cqc-names-high-death-rate-nhs-trusts/5005399.article

However in March 2010 (just 6 months later) Professor, Sir Brian Jarman identified in a Panorama programme, 25 more 'failing" NHS Trusts" which had High Unexpected Death Rates and which needed investigating: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rfqfm
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Heart Of England NHS Foundation Trust
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

How and why did the CQC not identify the other failing NHS Hospitals listed here and why haven't they investigated them?

If you look at the Mid Staffs issue, the CQC did not act until there were a mass of complaints plus a spiked death rate. Essentially, they had to wait for the deaths to reach a spectacularly high level to react. Mid Staffs is not an isolated case. It is only a place with a coordinated campaign group and backing from the media. Those who die elsewhere have no patient group - indeed with North Staffs - the CQC and all authorities refused to tell the public about the reports into substandard care. Similarly, all other failing hospitals are much like this, as our members know.

The CQC are regulators of a tick box system which allows NHS Hospital Trusts to self assess - obviously a worthy watchdog just like the rest of the 'NHS Commissions" and 'NHS Councils" and 'NHS Regulators'. They are all protectors of shameful practice that at least allows them to stay in their worthless positions on their high salaries.

Our members hearts are broken through the actions of these heartless people.

THE NHS REFORM GROUP

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