According to whistle-blowers at one of England’s worst performing hospital trusts, a climate of fear among staff is putting patients at risk. That’s because former and current clinicians at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust allege they were punished quickly and quite harshly, whilst some were even intimidated, by management for raising safety concerns, which were putting patients’ lives at risk. The Trust was likened to being run ‘a bit like the mafia.’
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust run four hospitals, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital Sutton Coldfield and Solihull Hospital. It serves more than two million patients a year and has been rated “requires improvement” by healthcare regulator the Care Quality Commission.
Lack of treatment
In 2017 a review into 20 haematology deaths at Queen Elizabeth Hospital was conducted by consultant Emmanouil Nikolousis. His report blasted a lack of ‘ownership’ of patients and a lack of communication among senior clinicians. He said some patients died without receiving treatment and that his findings were wilfully ignored, meaning his position was untenable, leaving him no other choice but to resign after almost 20 years of service.
Repeating the same mistakes
But it seems as if shortcomings in care were commonplace. The BBC Newsnight investigation found that in the past decade, the Trust referred 26 of its doctors to the General Medical Council to investigate a doctor’s fitness to practise, a Freedom of Information Act request by an NHS safety campaigner. In all cases the GMC took no further action.
If that were not enough, during the 12 months from April 2020, there were 12 ‘never events’ – these are described as ‘serious safety incidents’ which should never happen if proper safety procedures are correctly implemented which was the highest figure in the country for the period in question.
Culture of denial
The Trust have been quick to deny any wrongdoing and were keen to stress that there were ‘well-established routes and support in place for staff to raise concerns, and it promoted and encouraged this.’ They were also quick to deny wrongdoing by pointing out that ‘all patient safety concerns and incidents are rigorously investigated to prevent harm to our patients.’
Kiran Jalota, Head of Medical Negligence and Personal Injury, said. ‘Lessons need to be learnt and we need to move away from a victimisation culture, encourage unity, have frank discussions and avoid further suffering.’
She continued. “Over the years we have acted for many victims of medical negligence. We are highly experienced and can help you to seamlessly navigate the claims process. We aim to minimise the impact of the process; ensure you get the financial recompense you deserve, as well as some much-needed closure.”
Free initial meeting for support and advice
At Alsters Kelley, our approach is personal, sensitive, and caring. We understand you may have already suffered harm in the hands of those you put your trust in, which is why we put you at the heart of everything we do.
We can support and guide you in the right direction. And thanks to our network of offices covering Coventry, Leamington, Nuneaton, Stratford-upon-Avon and Southam we are very accessible too.
If you have any concerns about the treatment either you and/or someone you know has received and would like help or advice, please contact Kiran Jalota on 01926 356030 or email kiran.jalota@alsterskelley.com.
Call now 01926 356 030 to arrange a free consultation with one of our experienced medical negligence lawyers at any of our six offices.
You can also join us at our Medical Negligence free drop-in sessions every third Wednesday of the month from our Nuneaton office.