Colin Watts St George's Healthcare NHS Trust Director of Human Resources
(Section In Red Updates My Comments On Mr Watts Following Receipt Of The Written Judgement Of The Employment Appeal Tribunal)
At the meeting that I was asked to attend on the morning of the 29th July I was asked by Ian Hamilton the Chief Executive and Colin Watts the Director of Human Resources to resign my post as Finance Director in return for being given a six month secondment to the London NHS regional office, during which time I would not be expected to undertake any duties, but could spend the time finding myself alternative employment. When I asked what the alternative was to this offer I was told that if I refused to resign disciplinary action would be taken against me to ensure that I was dismissed from my post and Colin Watts the Director of Human Resources said, "And where do you think you will ever get another job if you choose to fight the Trust". While it became clear from the evidence that was submitted later in the process Colin Watts was not the prime mover in trying to get rid of me, nevertheless I do not believe that Colin Watts behaved in the way that I should have been entitled to expect of a Director of Human Resources in the circumstances that I found myself. After all it would have been Colin Watts role to advise the Trust on the way my disciplinary should have been procedurally conducted and as their were serious flaws in that procedure (as confirmed by the Employment Tribunal judgement) I think it is reasonable to believe that he does at the least bear some share of the responsibility for what happened.
Firstly when I was asked to attend the meeting on the 29th July with Ian Hamilton and Colin Watts, I was not told in advance (as confirmed by my secretary Janet Watson) what the meeting was about or that Colin Watts would be attending. Given that it was a meeting at which the Trust acknowledge, that I was asked to resign and then threatened with disciplinary action that would lead to my dismissal, Colin Watts as Director of Human Resources, would have known that such a meeting should not have taken place. The Trust's own disciplinary procedures do not allow for such a meeting and if issues were to be discussed that could lead to my dismissal I should have been warned in advance and allowed to bring a friend or representative with me. The fact that before the Investigatory Meeting was held on the 8th August to investigate the allegations being made against me, I was told that I could not attend meetings as Director of Finance demonstrated that the matter had already been pre-judged. At the investigatory meeting Colin Watts took the notes and refused me either the right to tape-record the meeting or bring someone else to take notes on my behalf. As I thought likely, when Colin Watts produced his copies of the notes they did not in my opinion reflect what had actually been said at the meeting as I testified on oath at the Employment Tribunal, as did my solicitor Paddy Quill. The Employment Tribunal chaired by Mr Warren dismissed the evidence given by my solicitor under oath about the notes taken by Mr Watt's even thought it is a extremely rare for a solicitor to give evidence in court on behalf of his client. As Mr Quill said when he gave his evidence Mr Watt's notes did not reflect the force of the points that were made concerning my questioning of Richard Douglas as the London Directors of Finance Conference held in July 2002. Mr Warren ruled that Mr Quills notes were not substantially different from Mr Watt's. Yet Mr Quills final notes that were submitted in evidence to the Employment Tribunal state in relation to Ian Hamilton being asked to provide evidence of complaints about me, "He was asked to provide an example and referred to a meeting with other Finance Directors and expressly mentioned IP's questions to Richard Douglas (NHS Finance Director). IP said, well that meeting wasn't public (only open to NHS Finance Directors)". This as Mr Quill stated on oath was the most serious allegation that was made against me during the whole meeting as an example of my "poor management style", yet Mr Watt's notes suggest that it was I that raised the issue of the questioning of Mr Douglas and no mention is made of the fact that Mr Hamilton raised the issue as an example of where I had failed as Finance Director of the Trust. As Mr Douglas subsequently confirmed he had no problems with the questioning that I put to him and in my view that is why Mr Watts did not mention the fact that Mr Hamilton had used this as an example of my alleged bad performance in his notes. If Mr Watts had allowed the meeting to be tape recorded, as I had formally requested there would of course have been no doubt as to what was said and whether the notes taken by Mr Watts were accurate or not. It was John Warren's right to make a decision as to who was telling the truth over this issue, but I am personally surprised that he choose to believe a Director of Human Resources who according to his own finding advised on an NHS disciplinary process that was found to be biased and unfair, rather than a solicitor and a Finance Director whose integrity Justice Mitting said at the Employment Appeals Tribunal could not be criticised. When my book "Don't Blow The Whistle" is published I shall be including further information which I have recently obtained which will further demonstrates that Mr Watts has not acted with honesty and integrity in the matter of my dismissal.
When the NHS Internal Disciplinary was held, apart from one occasion of pulling childish faces at me when I was giving my evidence and about which behaviour I had to register a formal complaint, it was Mr Watts staff who again took the written notes, with my request for the proceedings to be tape recorded or notes to be taken also by a note taker from my solicitor's office being refused, as I was told I would be given a copy of the notes taken by Mr Watts staff. When Miss McLoughlin gave evidence at the Employment Tribunal she said she had used the notes taken by Mr Watt's staff in November 2002 to assist her and Miss Marks to come to a judgement that I should be dismissed from my employment with the Trust. However, I was not given a copy of those notes until January 2003 immediately prior the commencement of my Employment Tribunal case, my lawyers being told by the Trust as late as December 2002 that the notes were not yet available. I believe this is a further indication that Colin Watts did not discharge his responsibilities as Director of Human Resources either fairly or efficiently.
Another problem that arose in connection with Colin Watts was when I submitted my list of individuals I wished to approach as potential witnesses. Under the terms of my suspension I was not allowed to speak to any of the Trust officials, so I had to submit a list of individuals to Colin Watts that I intended to contact in connection with preparing my defence. One of the individuals included on my list was Professor Robert Boyd who was a non-executive director of the Trust and also Principal of the St George's Hospital Medical School. When I made contact with Professor Boyd I explained to him the position I was in and how if he were prepared to make a statement about how I had contributed to the Board over the past few years and that there had been no complaints about me, that this would have been of great help to me. We spoke on a Saturday and Professor Boyd said he sympathised with my position and that he would consider my request over the weekend and let me know. A couple of days later I received a letter from Professor Boyd telling me, that with regret he would not be able to accede to my request to provide a statement. Later I found out, that when I had been trying to contact Professor Boyd, Catherine Mcloughlin, using the information I had given to Colin Watts, been to see Professor Boyd's secretary and had quite against all the Trust procedures, as she was later to act as a so called "independent chairman" of my NHS disciplinary hearing, told Professor Boyd's secretary that it was important that she spoke to Professor Boyd before he spoke to me. I think that is further evidence of the unfair way I was treated and demonstrates that Colin Watts did not act as a Human Resources Director with any personal integrity would have done as he clearly informed Catherine McLoughlin about those individuals I intended to approach as potential witnesses.
In addition to all this, I was subsequently referred by Dr Tony Martin the Chairman of the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee to the organisation Public Concern at Work . The Director of this organisation Guy Dehn told me that when Health Circular 1999/198 was issued to NHS Trusts, details of Public Concern at Work were also sent out, informing Trust's about what is considered to be best practice in dealing with Whistle-blowing cases. The advice made it clear that it is good practice to ensure that there should be a provision for independent advice to be obtained to try and help prevent issues coming to court. This appears in the model policy in the toolkit that was issued and is also covered in the Nolan recommendations. Needless to say under Colin Watt's direction as Director of Human Resources these best practice recommendations were not followed.
Finally I was not given any right of appeal against the decision that was taken to dismiss me from post as St George's Finance Director. The ACAS code of conduct to which the Trust says it subscribes, is quite clear on this point, to deny an employee who has been subject to disciplinary action an appeal is to deny that employee his rights to basic justice. This is of course exactly how I have been treated by St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, with Colin Watts as Director of Human Resources.