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My Two Responses To Sir Nigel Crisp's Message That He Will Take No Action Following The Sissling Report

1st E-mail sent 20/10/04

Dear Mr Larter

Thank you for your message from Sir Nigel Crisp. I think Sir Nigel is playing with words here. Item 24 on Page 5 of the report states quiet clearly, "I consider Mr Perkin's allegations proven, in respect of the inappropriate alteration of cancelled operations data for the three weeks commencing 24 September 2001. I am also of the opinion that the Trust was wrong in offering a variety of excuses for the error occurring". My allegation was that Mr Parkes deliberately and improperly altered the cancelled operations data for St George's Healthcare NHS Trust by Mr Parkes. I made no other allegation in respect of this matter. So if Mr Sislling states my allegation about the inappropriate alteration of cancelled operations is proven, it can only relate to the one and only allegation that I made.

I notice that Sir Nigel is also unconcerned with the proven statement that the Trust was wrong to offer a variety of excuses for the error occurring. It seems to me that it gives proof positive of why Sir Nigel should have acceded to my request for an independent QC to have headed this inquiry. An independent QC would not have had the vested interested that Sir Nigel and Julie Dent the Chief Executive of the South West London Health Authority clearly have in trying to suppress the truth. Julie Dent confirmed in her letter to me of the 29th January 2003, "Ian Hamilton informed me of the issues that you had raised in relation to waiting list reporting procedures. I discussed with him the action that the Trust had taken and have been kept informed of the Trust's subsequent actions in this regard", for her to be then be charged with the responsibility for making sure that this kind of issue does not reoccur in the future, when she was fully aware of what happened when the original offences were committed, is clearly inappropriate. It is clear that Mrs Dent was fully aware of what happened and should immediately resign her position.

Sir Nigel stated that there would be a "zero tolerance" policy for senior NHS staff who are found to have inappropriately altered waiting list figures and also that "whistle-blowers" would be protected. Clearly his actions in this matter show that under Sir Nigel's leadership the NHS offers neither protection to "whistle-blowers" nor the application of a "zero tolerance" policy to those that inappropriately alter waiting list figures. I shall be more than happy to publish Sir Nigel's reply to my e-mail and to also publish his reply in my book "Don't Blow The Whistle". By his continued refusal to tackle the "cancer of silent pressure" that so many people within the NHS know lies at the heart of the service, he simply continues to betray all the hardworking and dedicated people who provide the NHS's front line services and continues to enhance my own reputation, as the media coverage, the reaction of St George's employees and the general public over the last two days has amply demonstrated.

Ian Perkin CPFA FRSA
2nd E-mail sent 21/10/2004

Dear Mr Larter

 
Further to my recent e-mail to you regarding the Sir Nigel Crisp's response to the position of John Parkes and Mrs Julie Dent following the publication of the Sissling review I felt it only fair that I should (in case he has missed it) draw Sir Nigel's attention to Page 15 paragraph 78 of the report.  Here junior Trust staff present (who were female) at a meeting with Mr Parkes on the 4th January 2001 stated that Mr Parkes used expletives against them (the expletives actually used being "fuck and fucking").  I don't know if Sir Nigel would consider this to be a second error of judgement on Mr Parkes part or whether he expects all his Trust Chief Executives to behave in this way.  Perhaps you would be kind enough to let me know.
 
Also in terms of the suggestion that it was a simple error of judgement that Mr Parkes made when he as the Sissling report put it, the inappropriate alteration of cancelled operations date, the Sissling report for some mysterious reason the Sissling report does not refer to it.  However to make sure that Sir Nigel is aware of what happened the relevant section is produced below:-

"John Parkes rang me on Tuesday afternoon and said that all the figures were okay to submit and that A&E waiters over 4 hours should be 204 (Mary White had a figure of 189 but I think this was estimated from a sample) and that Cancelled Operations should be 0. I told him that the figure I had obtained was 28 patients and he said that this was incorrect as all routine operations were being cancelled in advance. I replied that I did not believe that this was true and was sure that the admissions co-ordinators didn't always contact the patients until the day they were due to come in. I said that I excluded any patients that were cancelled in advance. I also said that we had 2 cancellations that were due to no theatre time and no surgeon which unlikely to have been cancelled in advance and should be reported. I mentioned that we usually have at least 5 cancelled operations and it would seem quite odd to suddenly have no cancellations. John Parkes replied that the Cancelled Operations figures were something that we were being closely monitored on at the moment and that I should enter zero against the Cancelled Operations".

If Sir Nigel is not willing to do anything about Mr Parkes, I should be grateful if you could confirm that my e-mails and attachments have been passed to the Chairman of the Trust of which Mr Parkes is currently Chief Executive.

As always it is my intention to make contents of this e-mail public so that everyone can understand the way that NHS management operates under Sir Nigel's leadership.

Yours sincerely

Ian Perkin

 

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