Recently Sir Ian Kennedy who was in charge of Healthcare Commission gave evidence at Mid Staffordshire inquiry trying to justify his censorship of the report which showed excess death rates in patients (anywhere between 300-1200 people) at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. The report and the figures were eventually leaked in 2009.
Now in 2011 questions are answered from the comfort of the retirement, presumably.
In one of Healthcare Commission report there was eventually, mention of maternity unit at Northwick Park Hospital with mothers's high mortality rates (five times national average) and problems with hygiene. Out of emergency measures that unit quickly was taken out and three more deaths followed including one of their own staff.
Mental health services at Northwick Park Hospital, interestingly, also had longstanding problems like the abuse of the elderly and high suicide rates as well as persecution of a whistleblower.....These are not in any report by Healthcare Commission.
Newspapers reported on elderly being tied up to chairs etc click HERE to read more.
We are not aware that Dr Peter Jefferys (ex Medical Director of Mental Health Unit and one of General Medical Council Fitness to Practice Panelists and Consultant in Psychiatry of Elderly reported the abuse of the elderly patients to any regulator, although he has been known to complain about professionals when there was no legitimate reason to do so other than fear for his own reputation.
Sir Ian Kennedy also worked at General Medical Council for nine years. Click on his photograph to read his cv,
3 comments:
Though not ideal, its never too late. I believe everyone knows DH/NHS shoots the messenger and people speak up openly after retirement and securing their pensions. There are only a handful who have the moral courage to challenge malpractice whilst in office.
1.BMJ 2011; 342:d2900 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d2900 (Published 6 May 2011)
Cite this as: BMJ 2011; 342:d2900
Ian Kennedy has stated in the above BMJ article '
“My experience of the Department of Health is they have a
tendency to shoot the messenger rather than embrace changes
that need to be made. Their first priority is to ‘handle’ the
situation rather than consider and implement change. Those
were the realities we had to work with,”Sir Ian revealed that the health department had asked him, just
before the 2005 election, to delay until after the election an
announcement that Northwick Park Hospital would be put into
special measures after nine women in two years died in
childbirth. “I said, ‘[You could do that] if you’re prepared to
handle Jeremy Paxman [the presenter of the BBC’s Newsnight
television programme] tomorrow when someone dies,’ Sir Ian
recalled. “And there was a sharp intake of breath, and then we
got on doing what was in the interests of the hundred or so
women who were expecting to deliver their babies every week
in Northwick Park.”
It shows he had minimal moral courage to speak at right time.
The same article states,
BMJ 2011;342:d2900 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d2900
'Ian Kennedy, who chaired the commission from its beginning
until it was abolished in 2009, told the public inquiry into
failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust that he
decided to excise the figures because people did not understand
the statistical concept of “excess deaths.”
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