PREVIOUS MEETINGS
AT A GLANCE
28 Oct 2003: House of Commons Debate, London
27 July 2003: Valmik Temple, Hockley, Birmingham
21 June 2003: Speaker’s Corner, Coventry
28 April 2003: St Paul’s Church Hall, Coventry
1 February 2003:West Bromwich Town Hall, W. Mids
8 December 2002:Ravidassia Sabha, Rugby
7 November 2002:Indian Community Centre, Rugby
4 October 2002:Allesley Hotel, Coventry
7 September 2002:Barras Social Club, Coventry
15 June 2002: St Paul's Church, Coventry
25 April 2002: Ravidassia Sabha, Coventry
Background to the meetings
The
Reinstatement Committee has already organised, facilitated and
supported a nu
mber of formal
public meetings throughout Coventry and the West Midlands. The
primary purpose of these meetings has always been to highlight
the gross injustice that Dr Mattu has faced and to increase
awareness of the worrying situation at the University Hospitals
Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
The early
meetings essentially drew public attention to the events leading
up to the suspension of Dr Mattu. These focussed upon the dangers
that patients had faced due to policies imposed by the Management
at our Trust, such as the overcrowding of 5 patients into bays
designed and equipped for 4, and the Chief Executive's retention
of Dr Steven Evans as the Clinical Director for Cardiac Services,
even though he was not a specialist in heart disease, and he had
received a near unanimous vote of no confidence from his 14
consultant colleagues in the Cardiac Department. A decision that
subsequently resulted in the Trust being exposed as having the
country's worst death rates following Cardiac Surgery.
Dr Mattu
was amongst the Consultants who had raised concerns about patient
safety. He had warned about the dangers of overcrowding and the
poor organisation of cardiac services. The response of the
Management and a handful of his colleagues was to pursue a
malicious and vindictive smear campaign against Dr Mattu, to try
and discredit him, in order to avoid their own incompetence and
poor integrity being detected. They were under the
misapprehension that Dr Mattu would be intimidated by
victimisation, and by the open threat by the senior Management,
including the Chief Executive, that they wanted to get rid of Dr
Mattu and 4 other consultants who had raised concerns about
patient safety. The Chief Executive declared that he intended
with his colleagues to destroy Dr Mattu's career. The dubious
Chief Executive, Mr Loughton, was so confident 
that, by bullying and threatening concerned
consultants he would be able to hide the dreadful consequences of
the poor Management decisions, he boldly went before the watchful
press and on the BBC and deliberately misled the public and NHS
Executive. He willfully made the wrongful claim that no patients
had been endangered or harmed by the Management Policies. The
Chief Executive clearly misjudged his ability to sweep things
under the carpet because, some days later, Dr Mattu demonstrated
his bravery and selfless commitment to his chosen vocation by
speaking out for the people of Coventry & Warwickshire, when
he described these dangers and patient deaths on the BBC.
This courageous whistleblower was subsequently subjected to even more persecution by certain managers and by a handful of colleagues. This culminated in a former researcher, Dr Gieowarsingh, being 'encouraged' to make false allegations. In spite of Dr Gieowarsingh having highly suspicious integrity and motives, the Trust Management used this excuse to punish Dr Mattu for speaking out. He was improperly suspended from the Trust by Dr Lionel Booth (a consultant who had recently been promoted into the management by Mr Loughton) and Mrs Karen Martin (another member of senior management who had benfited from patronage, and also been recently promoted by Mr Loughton to the post of Director of Human Resources).
Subsequent
meetings drew attention to emerging evidence of the Trust
committing widespread breaches in Trust & NHS Policies and
Procedures. The preliminary investigation into Dr Mattu has 
been highly flawed, and conducted by a highly
unreliable Medical Director (Dr M Harrison). He was also
appointed by Mr Loughton, just weeks earlier. Dr Harrison has
demonstrated a prejudicial attitude towards Dr Mattu and has
openly discriminated against him.
The integrity of Dr Harrison is also of concern. He has reneged upon many undertakings, and knowingly made false and misleading claims and remarks. Dr Harrison was also caught tampering with witness evidence, distorting the evidence that was allowed to come forward, and refusing to allow Dr Mattu to complete an interview during the preliminary investigation. Dr Harrison was astonishingly biased against Dr Mattu and described by Dr Peter Mulrooney, elected Chairman of Senior Medical Staff Committe, as being thoroughly untrustworthy. Dr Mulrooney recently revealed that Dr Harrison, Mrs K Martin and Mrs Alice Casey (Chief Operating Officer) had been inventing procedures during the investigation of Dr Mattu, in order to achieve the desired outcome. (see also Doc Quits over Mattu Conspiracy). The Trust has undoubtedly failed to adhere to due process, during their eagerness to get rid of Dr Mattu.
Having
collated a substantial amount of evidence demonstrating the Trust
Management's violations of Human Rights, Employment Law and Trust
& NHS Policies
and Procedures,
along with their discriminatory treatment of Dr Mattu, the focus
of more recent meetings has changed and demanded:
The patience of the people of Coventry & Warwickshire has now run out with our NHS Trust and the NHS Executive. We have witnessed the most horrendous abuse of public office and of our public money. The local community deserves better, and the government and our elected representatives are obligated to deliver us this.