Q?:WHAT DO BAD DOCTORS AND BAD NURSES FEAR MOST?

[Guest guest]

Q?:WHAT DO BAD DOCTORS AND BAD NURSES FEAR MOST?

 

A: PATIENTS .....

 

...... who have been medically abused - either physically, sexually,

verbally,or in writing - and those who have been denied medical

care, getting together, networking, uniting, obtaining publicity so

their voice and the truth can be heard. So becoming a force to

reckon with. Good doctors and nurses have nothing to fear!

Return to Our Comments

http://www.sin-medicalmistakes.org/OurComments8.html#Bad

 

29TH JANUARY 2002

 

PANDORA'S BOX

" HAUNTED BY FIFTY SCANDALS A YEAR " Daily Mail 28th December, 2001,

article by Beezy Marsh

This article claims that in a leaked secret memo , written by the

Chief Medical Officer, ministers were desperate to avoid

embarrassing public inquiries into medical blunders.

His memo states he believes that giving into the demand for these

inquiries would be disastrous because they are all " problem doctor "

cases. QUITE SO!! but isn't that the very reason for doing the

investigations ? What moral justification is there for

leaving " problem " doctors loose in the system?

 

From his letter it emerges that the NHS expects up to 50 scandals

every year ( only 50 ? SIN would put the figure much higher) in

which doctors have maimed or killed patients in botched operations

( not to forget mis-diagnoses and wrong drug treatment) and

subjected them to verbal, physical or sexual abuse. (and denial of

medical care)

 

The D.o.H has already agreed to two major Public Inquiries : the

Bristol Babies & the Shipman scandals. But think about this:

everyone knew about these scandals - all the facts were in the

public domain. - the Inquiries were almost unnecessary So, the

strange logic is that you must have proved publicly there is a

scandal ie. by going to the GMC and who can get a case through the

GMC unless you have a backing of a doctor? The cost of these huge

public inquires is about £10 mill. each and the times scale is long -

two years.

 

These Inquiries should concentrate on: " Who knew what & when " .

Who raised concerns about the doctors in question ?

To whom did they raise these concerns & when?

What did did these people do about the doctors in question when

told?

Which people knew that patients were being damaged, but did nothing

and why?

 

Accountability should be established. OOPS! Sorry, we have just

mentioned the taboo word : " accountability " ! In a just, democratic

society, people should be responsible for their own actions or

inactions. To collude with incompetence and malpractice which brings

harm to innocent patients cannot be tolerated. One can say " lessons

will be learned " ad infinitum, but one must never, never, not for

one second, breathe the word " accountability "

 

The article goes on to state that the reason the NHS is resisting g

these demands for public inquiries is because they will be so costly

and the NHS is short of funds. Huge Inquiries like the BRI Inquiry

cost over £10mill. However, we believe this is a red herring, more

likely the BMA has put a veto on further embarrassing inquiries!

What is needed are smaller Tribunals which are really, yes really,

independent of the govt. and which can examine the facts presented

by the patient and investigate into these KNOWN scandals of

patient abuse. The bad apples must go! Who is saying they must

remain?

 

The alternative is to go on as we have been doing for the last 50

years - with a denial and cover up culture. We have paid a heavy

price for this for without honesty & accountability there can be no

quality control SIN believes that to ignore these scandals is very

short-sighted

 

Standards have been falling.

Wrong kind of message to our junior doctors: they see (high

ranking) consultants being incompetent , malpractising and even

being malicious to innocent patients and then getting away with it

for years.

corruption of the medical profession: -doctors must be allowed to

tell the truth!

Confidence in the medical profession is plumeting and this will not

stop until the denial and cover-up culture ceases!

A growing number of victims of substandard care and medical abuse

who are suffering

Mr. Alan Milburn has acknowledged that his department receives a

request for an inquiry every day of the week. This does not surprise

us with so many patients dying from medical errors and so many

being left permanently damaged every year. Is it right, or even

sensible to reject all these requests ? Why do they not start

having " Tribunals " ? These need not be held in the full glare of

publicity. This would soon re-establish patient confidence and would

start to weed out the " bad apples "

We are saddened that this memo was written by Prof. Donaldson

because when we have heard him speak at the BMA/BMJ conferences he

has always said the right thing and so we had confidence in him. In

March 2000 at the " Medical Errors " Conference, he told the doctors

present that patients would not accept a " no blame culture " that

they were demanding a culture of accountability. Yet he has now

signed up to a " no blame pact " ! He also said at the same conference

that one of the deadly sins was " to avert the gaze " ie. to turn a

blind eye! At the Ethics Conference in February 2001 he told the

assembled doctors that they must not go around saying that there

were no more scandals, because patients would not believe them. He

added that there were more major scandals in the pipeline!

 

The NHS has been likened to a giant carbuncle, which has received no

treatment for decades. Now and again there is a small eruption and

the pus runs out. What is needed is for someone brave enough to

take a sharp scalpel and lance this festering sore. Then a period of

healing will follow. Otherwise, this carbuncle, which is now very

angry and throbbing violently will erupt explosively - making the

healing more difficult. For the sake of the innocent suffering

victims and also for the well being of the medical profession, we

urge that these long standing scandals are addressed.

 

What is the abused patient to do? The NHS Complaints Procedure is

a cruel farce. Few can go to law and those that do have little

chance of succeeding because of the " rigged " bias in favour of the

medical profession. The GMC is dysfunctional

 

We believe the government has lifted the lid on Pandora's Box, has

seen what is in there, has lost its nerve, and is now struggling to

close the box. SIN emphasises that we support good doctors and good

practice: we are against bad practice and bad doctors. We believe

that there is more bad practice than bad doctors. But it is obvious

from the above newspaper headline that there are far to many

substandard and malicious doctors in the system and these dangerous

doctors must be exposed and removed - for the sake of the

vulnerable patient and for the well being of the medical

profession.

 

Return to Our Comments

 

 

30th January, 2002

 

" Trust me, I'm a doctor? No fear! "

 

This article appeared in the Observer in the issue dated 26th

November, 2001, was written by Cristina Odone and sent to us by a

member.

 

SIN applauds the sentiments expressed in this article because they

coincide with the experiences of our members. It is interesting to

give some quotes

 

: " .....Your doctor may look like a caring, sharing " Peak

Practice " star, concerned only with your welfare. But beneath that

glinting stethoscope beats a cold, arrogant heart that rejoices in

membership of the superior profession....... "

 

This opinion is even shared by the retiring president of the GMC,

Sir Donald Irvine who called for : " an end to continuing arrogance,

paternalism and complacency " of the medical profession.

 

" ....For millennia, doctors have basked in our adoring

deference.....knowing that no one would dare to question their

authority or call their bluff. Sheep-like, the rest of us paid

homage and often fees.....And for their mistakes , we paid with our

health or our lives..... "

" ....think how many gynaecologists devastated women with unnecessary

hysterectomies, surgeons removed perfectly healthy organs and GPs

killed patients with mistaken diagnoses.... "

 

" ,,,You'd never guess this dishonourable record from the airs and

graces these pompous professionals put on. For one thing, these

doctors close ranks against mere mortals: for every brave whistle-

blowing medic, there are legion who turn a blind eye to their

colleagues' failings. They refuse to comment on the *whisky they

smelled on the paediatrician's breath or on the trembling hands of

the scalpel- wielding surgeon.... "

 

" ....This kind of masonic self-protection goes on at institutional

level as well: the GMC refused to pass on information about Shipman

to the police during their enquires into the killer quack's past.

Even when the Shipman case suggested serious flaws in the self-

regulatory powers of the medical profession, the GMC, the Royal

College of Medical Practitioners and the BMA responded with less

than lightening speed to right the wrongs committed by one of their

own. All this points to an attitude position.... "

 

" ....If doctors hold their subordinates in contempt, you should see

them with their patients: any attempt at assertion is mocked and any

quibble quashed.... "

 

The author concludes by saying the internet is going to give

patients much more power and in the end the medical profession will

lose their dominant superiority.

 

* One of our members will closely relate to this comment. Her young

son was operated on by a neuro-surgeon who had a reputation for

being an alcoholic and the family had indeed smelt the drink on his

breath. It was rumoured that he had a bottle of alcohol in a

cupboard in his consulting room, and cleaners had found a crate of

beer. The surgeon damaged permanently her son. The mother made a

complaint and went to law. Long afterwards she discovered by chance

he had been suspended and he had eventually left the hospital. He

is now practising as a medical " expert . witness " for medico-legal

cases! The son's case, as usual, went nowhere. He remains seriously

damaged with an uncertain prognosis, and is unable to obtain medical

care because to give him this care would be to acknowledge that

something has gone wrong and would give more evidence for a

successful law suit.