THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Download a PDF Version of this document HERE

Obtain the Official Trust Documents by calling 02476-538806 and speaking to:

Alice Casey (Director of Operations) or

Mrs Karen Martin (Director of Human Resources)

Please request 3 copies of each document and circulate a set of copies to a friend and one to a relative.

THE DOCUMENTS TO REQUEST INCLUDE:

Policy number 16        Dignity at Work (July 2001)

Policy number 3          Disciplinary Procedure (July 2001)

Policy number 3a        Medical & Dental Staff Disciplinary Procedure (1999)

HSG(94)49                Health Service Guidelines, Disciplinary Procedures (1999)

Clinical governance review Commission for Health Improvement (Sept 2001) - download pdf/ Web link

Clinical governance revisit review Commission for Health Improvement (March 2002) - download pdf/ Web link

Tell your friends, relatives, work colleagues about what is happening and how this will affect them as individuals and other people in the whole region.  Firstly try to get them to understand and then to actively join the reinstatement group.

A fact sheet (The Facts) helps you to understand and explain the health problems, the suspension issues and how this affects everyone.

We need money to help fund our campaign AND SUPPORT THE CLINIC (Clinic).  We have had to seek professional advice, which is expensive, and urgently need financial support.  Therefore donations and fund raising are critical to how well we can attend to our aims and task. 

WE ARE FIGHTING TO PROTECT:

The quality of our health care

Against the abuse of power in public office

Natural Justice

WE ARE THEREFORE TOTALLY COMMITTED TO:

The unconditional reinstatement of a courageous specialist, Dr Mattu, who risked his own career and spoke out to protect us from harm and to ensure our safety when we are ill and vulnerable.

Remedy the wrongful suspension of Dr Mattu

 WE CALL ON YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP - THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

Write individual letters to individual names listed in this document.In the letters say that you oppose the continued suspension of Dr Mattu, and that you demand real improvements in local health care, and greater openness and honesty from our NHS Trust.

It is important to contact the National Audit Office as soon as possible, since they are about to complete a review of hospital suspensions.  They want to hear your views.

Target your local MPs and ask them what their position is on this matter and exactly what they are doing about it (addresses listed below).

IN ANY LETTER THAT YOU WRITE IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ASK A QUESTION THAT REQUIRES THE PERSON TO RESPOND. A number of suggested questions are included in this action document.

 In addition more specific letters should be sent to the Department of Health, Health Authority, the Trust Management, newspapers, television broadcasters, radio broadcasters (addresses listed below).

Write to the Editors of local and national newspapers and ask them what their view is on the topic.  Ask them why they are not providing Editorial coverage on:

• The Country’s worst performing NHS Trust, receiving the worst clinical governance review ever produced by the Commission for Health Improvement.

• The first ever Trust management to be removed and replaced because they were so bad, under the government’s own star-rating scheme.

• The Trust with the country’s worst suspension rate for specialists; 4 in 5 years!

• The injustice of the latest and ongoing suspension of Dr Raj Mattu, for his advocacy for patient care ahead of advocacy for the NHS, and the subsequent failure of the Trust to still complete the investigation of the matter 20 months later.

• The failure of the NHS and Her Majesty’s Government to intervene and ensure natural justice for Dr Mattu, and protect health workers and patients in the region, despite repeated requests for their help.

If you know anyone famous or of influence who may help this campaign, please let the reinstatement committee know, so that we can recruit their support and benefit from your contact by helping increase awareness .

We need help in general and volunteers that can help with specific jobs now and again.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR LETTERS

• What exactly is your position on the quality of care in the Trust?

• How does the government justify the lack of action over many years to protect health care for the local people?

• How does the slow piecemeal replacement of our old Trust Management reconcile with the bold claim by the government to urgently and swiftly replace poorly performing Trusts with a new franchise?  Why has the government failed to do this for the local people?

• How can we trust our Trust after so many years of spin and misleading statements, and the recent heightened continuation of this?

• What is your position on the lack of openness and misinformation at our hospitals?

• How does the government plan to monitor whether there are any real improvements in quality of care at our hospitals?

• How do you propose to monitor whether there are any real improvements in quality of care at our hospitals?

• What is your position on the inadequate quality of care currently provided by our NHS Trust?

• Can you please explain what is being done about our Trust being the Country’s worst performing NHS Trust, receiving the worst clinical governance review ever produced by the Commission for Health Improvement?  How will you ensure that any claims of improvement are real?

• Can you explain what you are doing to ensure that having the first ever Trust management to be removed and replaced under the government’s own star-rating scheme, that the new team is up to the job and will involve more the specialists in helping to improve things.

• What is your position on the chaos at our hospitals?

• What do you propose to do about the chaos at our hospitals?

• What is your position on activities at our NHS Trust regarding patient care, consultant suspensions and release of misleading information?

• What is your position on the frequent use of suspensions by our Trust to punish Specialists who are whistle-blowers, bearing in mind that our trust has the country’s worst suspension rate for specialists; 4 in 5 years!

• How much public money have the Trust’s managers squandered to pursue personal vendettas by suspending consultants?

• What is your position on the injustice of the latest and ongoing suspension of Dr Raj Mattu, for his advocacy of patient care ahead of advocacy of the NHS, and the subsequent failure of the Trust to investigate the matter by 9 months? What are you doing about affecting this matter?

• What is your position on the suspension of Dr Mattu and the Trust’s protracted delay in investigating the matter?

• What will you do to correct the failure of the NHS and the Government to intervene, despite repeated requests for their help, and ensure natural justice for Dr Mattu, and protect health workers and patients in the region?

• What is your position on whistle-blowers and their right to be protected?

• What are you going to do to ensure that Dr Mattu will get natural justice?

• What are you going to do to ensure that Dr Mattu will get the protection he deserves?

• It is clear that Mr Stoten, Trust Chairman, does not see his role as anything more than a press officer/ Public relations officer.  Surely what the Trust needs is a Trust Chairman?  What will you be prepared to do?

• It has become clear that Mr Stoten has an inherent suspicion and dislike of Consultants, what are you going to do about replacing him with someone who can and is prepared to work with the Consultants to improve our hospitals?

• We have experienced the mess that has been created by letting the Health Managers take charge of our hospitals during the last 10 years.  Our local health needs are now so desperate that we urgently need our professionals in health care, i.e. Doctors and Nurses, to be given the chance to put things right.  What are you going to do about making this happen?

• Mr Loughton and his managers have seriously damaged local health care and we need to urgently put the health professionals, i.e. Doctors and Nurses, back in charge at our hospitals.  Mr Stoten, Trust Chairman, who is in the David Loughton mould, has done little of any value in improving delivery of health care.  Since we must change our Chairman now, what are you prepared to do to improve things for us by making this happen?

• There are serious and growing concerns about the integrity of Mr Stoten, Trust Chairman, who has provided a lot of misinformation. He is obsessed with giving a positive impression to the local people and not accurate facts.  He has been caught out too often. Mr Stoten must realise that the public is neither stupid nor gullible and that his position as Chairman of our Trust is no longer tenable. What will you do to help us get a decent and better-suited person as our Trust Chairman?

• Mr Stoten, Trust Chairman, has repeatedly contradicted himself about the suspension of Dr Mattu and his role in this matter. How many more misleading comments must be exposed before we can call on your help to appoint a more appropriate Trust Chairman?

• There is a growing demand for a new and more able Trust Chairman than Mr Stoten. There are increasing calls for a Chairman who wishes to represent the interests of the local people instead of publicising the Trust. What is your position on this matter and what are you willing to do to help the local people secure this?

• What is your position on the use of tax payer’s money to fund suspensions that have been prolonged for no good reason?

• What steps are you taking to ensure that Trust Managers in pursuit of suspensions are not mis-spending the limited money for the NHS?

• What steps are you taking to ensure that Trust Managers in pursuit of suspensions are not abusing their power or office?

• We are constantly encouraged to become stake-holders in our health services. How can you ensure that the Trust Managers will be accountable to us, the stake-holders, for their actions?

• The Trust Chairman, Mr Stoten, has recruited or co-opted the majority of the Non-Executive Directors on to our Trust Board. This causes further worry about the independence of the Board and the lack of representation of the local people. In view of the historical lack of independent action of the Trust Chairman and Board and the inadequate checks and balances, what are you prepared to do to help address this problem?

• In view of the government policy of increased NHS accountability to the public and increased consumer choice, how can our Trust be permitted to continue to remain unaccountable to the public and persist with positive spin rather than factual reporting?

• One of the crucial roles of the Trust Chairman, Mr Stoten, is to ensure that we are kept fully informed about our Trust, by providing us the information without distortion or corruption. Then it is surely for us to decide if our Trust is meeting targets. Why then is Mr Stoten being allowed to constantly spin information and facts?

• The Commission for Health Improvement has made it absolutely clear that Senior Doctors and Nurses are too frightened to speak up for patient care and report any concerns that they may have, for fear of repercussions from the Hospital Management. It is emerging that Mr Stoten is in the same mould as Mr Loughton and staff fear still persists.  How can we therefore expect improvements, when those very experts who will fashion and implement change are too frightened to speak up?

• Mr Loughton was found to have poor integrity and not have primary concern for the health and safety of local patients. Dr Mattu courageously spoke up for patients and put his career at risk for us. It is emerging that the Trust has now suspended Dr Mattu to punish him. What are you willing to do to help us now protect Dr Mattu’s bravery?

• How long does Dr Mattu need to remain suspended before it is accepted that his suspension is nothing other than a punishment for speaking out against the Trust and for the local people? 

Sample Letters

Please write to:  (Remember to copy your letter to the others on this list)

If you have access to the internet this site gives a list of all MPs together with other information:  http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/alms.htm

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For more information contact: mail@drmrc.co.uk