This is In The Loop -
Feb 11, 2013
Parents sue hospital over chronic neglect of children with heart conditions
The NHS has been hit by new legal action just days after the findings of the Francis report were published. In a landmark case which raises fresh questions over the NHS’s treatment of patients, University Hospitals Bristol Foundation is being sued by a group of families over its care of infants and children with heart conditions who either died or suffered debilitating complications while under its care.
The case reveals a catalogue of failings and severe neglect by nurses at the hospital, including an accusation that nurses turned down or switched off alarms that are meant to alert them that a child’s condition is deteriorating. In some cases, nursing care was so lacking at the hospital that the parents of children who had undergone heart operations were left to perform aftercare including administering medication and monitoring heart oxygen levels themselves.
This is more than gross neglect; it
is a wanton disregard for life that, in any other field, would attract the
tireless scrutiny of senior officers and incur certain police prosecution. In
its stead, a private prosecution is being pursued by families.
The Mail Online reports
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Assisted suicide 'is legalised' by police: Secret new guidelines from senior officers mean deaths are not investigatedBy MARTIN BECKFORD
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Campaigners fear assisted suicide is being legalised by the back door as record numbers of Britons end their lives at Dignitas – while their relatives escape investigation for helping them.
The law is, clearly, not the law. And, if the law is not the law, then a crime is not a crime.
One step towards the abyss makes each proceeding step that more certain. The weak, the frail, the elderly and the vulnerable are put at risk.
The following is posted on Facebook:
"Euthanasia will come into our society at some point, though we will fight against it at every step, and after it is legal too. It is typical to have such a biased, unprofessional and evidence-ignoring report be held up and used on this sort of issue, by the culture of death. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands hundreds of people have been euthanased against their will (used to be called murder); in the UK many critically ill or palliative patients are being put on the Liverpool "care" pathway and subsequently starved and dehydrated to death, often without their or even their family's consent or knowledge. The same things will likely happen here. Look these things up, they are fairly common knowledge, but of course don't get mention in this "report"."
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, Julie Bailey of Cure the NHS (which helped bring about the Francis Inquiry) called for the resignation of Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the NHS.
Mrs Bailey said she feared a new
review could prove to be a “PR exercise” by the police.
According to The Telegraph,
According to The Telegraph,
Police and prosecutors are examining new evidence about the Stafford Hospital scandal that could lead to criminal charges
Matthew Ellis, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, disclosed that detectives were examining “information not in the public domain” relating to deaths at the hospital.
“There is more information that is not in the public domain that is going to be used to identify individuals who should be looked at,” he said.
“They will use every single piece of information — published and not published. The police are going to look at absolutely everything, every piece of information it is possible to get.”
He added: “They will be looking at new information — information they have not looked at before.
“This is a serious exercise led by a very determined and talented senior investigator, not just a paper-based review.”
It is understood that some of the information being considered comes from coroners’ inquests into deaths at the hospital. The police have also made clear they will consider fresh evidence submitted by families, campaigners and former NHS staff.
Mr Ellis insisted that “operational decisions would always be made by the police”, but said that he “There is more information that is not in the public domain that is going to be used to identify individuals who should be looked at,” he said.
“They will use every single piece of information — published and not published. The police are going to look at absolutely everything, every piece of information it is possible to get.”
He added: “They will be looking at new information — information they have not looked at before.
“This is a serious exercise led by a very determined and talented senior investigator, not just a paper-based review.”
It is understood that some of the information being considered comes from coroners’ inquests into deaths at the hospital. The police have also made clear they will consider fresh evidence submitted by families, campaigners and former NHS staff.
Mr Ellis insisted that “operational decisions would always be made by the police”, but said that he would ensure officers take account of public concern that no individuals have been held accountable for the scandal.
He said: “I want people who are responsible for this to be held responsible.”
Officials from Mr Ellis’ office will be part of the police-CPS review team. There is no fixed timetable for the work, but officers will brief Mr Ellis and the force’s chief constable on their progress in two weeks.
Mr Ellis said he had told the force to move swiftly. “There needs to be pace. They need to get on with this – the longer it takes, the more scepticism there will be,” he said. The review team will this week meet campaigners including Julie Bailey of Cure the NHS, which helped bring about the Francis Inquiry.
Mrs Bailey, who in a letter to The Daily Telegraph calls for the resignation of Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the NHS, said she feared the new review could prove to be a “PR exercise” by the police, but said she would co-operate with officers.
To be truly credible, she said, the police and prosecutors would have to consider charges against people who worked for the Strategic Health Authority and other public bodies that oversaw Stafford hospital.
“If the police are going to look at people in the SHA and other regulatory bodies, that would give us some satisfaction,” she said. “They knew what was going on, they are the ones that put pressure on the hospital to reduce staffing.”
The focus on the oversight of Stafford hospital will add to the pressure on Sir David. He was running the Mid Staffs hospital trust in 2005, and has already faced calls for his resignation over the scandal.
Sean Worth, a former Downing Street adviser on health policy also called for health executives to face greater scrutiny over the scandal. Writing for telegraph.co.uk, Mr Worth says: “It is indeed astonishing that none of the management overseeing Mid Stafford has yet been held accountable.
He adds: “If specific allegations are brought forward of wilful neglect on the ward floor, especially any amounting to manslaughter, there should absolutely be a police inquiry. Anything less would let down the victims.”
This man, Gary Walker, as chief
executive at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals trust (ULHT), raised concerns
for patient safety. He was dismissed and paid £500,000 from the public purse
for his silence. This was public money being used for corrupt purposes.
When Mr. Walker broke his silence, he was threatened with legal action and told by the NHS he faced paying back the money and any extra legal costs.
"I stand to lose everything if they sue," he told the Daily Mail.
When Mr. Walker broke his silence, he was threatened with legal action and told by the NHS he faced paying back the money and any extra legal costs.
"I stand to lose everything if they sue," he told the Daily Mail.
Gary Walker, who was chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) before he was dismissed in 2010 claims he may “lose everything” after speaking out against the “culture of fear” in the NHS. Mr Walker alleges that the trust, which is now being investigated about high death rates, has threatened to sue him for the return of £500,000 it paid him to keep quiet.
He said: “Now I risk having to repay even more than the settlement because I could be liable for the trust’s legal fees. I face ruin. It has got to the stage where thousands of patients are dying needlessly in NHS hospitals and the government says no one’s to blame, someone needs to stand up and be counted.”
Sir David Nicholson, is now head of the NHS Commissioning
Board. So, what does he know that keeps him in his job...?
According to The Mirror,
Mr Cameron said: "David Nicholson, first of all I think he does a very good job.
"I've worked with him at close quarters since becoming Prime Minister.
"I'm impressed at the grip and grasp he has over the NHS and his knowledge, understanding and love for it and what he helps to deliver in terms of results.
"It seemed to me that he had properly apologised and acknowledged the mistakes the regional health authority had made when he ran it for that short period of time as these events unfolded.
"I would point you towards what the report said - which is that we should not be seeking scapegoats.
"And I think to highlight David Nicholson in that way would be seeking a scapegoat.
"I don't think he should be made a scapegoat."
Hang on. What's going on here? Sir David Nicholson 'apologised and acknowledged the mistakes the regional
health authority had made when he ran it ', and that's good enough, and
now he's running the new Commissioning Board.
Mr. Gary Walker, however, under
threat of being sued by the NHS which Nicholson is running, stands to 'lose
everything if they sue'. It was Mr. Walker who blew the whistle, for heaven's
sake.
DoH ministers claim they cannot
intervene to get the police off their butts to pursue a case at Mid Staffs.
DoH ministers can, surely, intervene
to stop a case being brought against Mr. Walker. So, why don't they?
According to The Telegraph A further 2,800 patients may have died needlessly as nine more hospitals were identified as having worrying mortality rates over the last two years.
That would bring the total to nearly 4000 deaths....
That's mind-boggling.
It is reported that up to 50% of deaths at Mid-Staffs were on the LCP. Extrapolation produces a figure close to 2000 possible deaths on the LCP that need investigating.
That's devastating.
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