New Allegations
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As a result of the publication of this website new claims are being forwarded to me on a confidential basis about wrong doing in the NHS. One such claim that I have received is about the mistreatment of patients at St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, that it is claimed is being carried out by in order to ensure that patients to do breach the Four Hour Waiting Time Target set by the government for Accident and Emergency Departments. I do not know if the allegations that have been made are true or not but I have passed them on to the current Chief Executive Peter Homa who has promised to investigate them and the matter has also been reported in the South London Press Newspaper. I e-mailed Peter Homa to ask him if he can confirm whether the findings of the investigation he is setting up will be made public and he has now confirmed to me that St George's will make the results of their investigation public.
A further development has arisen concerning this issue in that a journalist passed information to me, that showed that Tim Jones the Head of Communications and previously Press Officer at the Department of Health with responsibility for media relations for no lesser person that the Secretary of State himself, had in writing claimed that I was making allegations about the treatment of patients on Richmond Ward. This of course was totally untrue, as all I was doing was to pass on information that had been sent to by e-mail to me because the member of staff was concerned, as was stated in a second e-mail that I received from her that, "It's big stuff for me and I fear for my future in the NHS if my name or position came out". Tim Jones has now recognised this fact and has apologised for any offence caused in a letter he sent to me dated 15th January 2004.
The January Public Board Meeting considered a report on what had been happening on Richmond Ward. While the report did not find evidence that all the allegations that had been made were true. There was evidence that some of them were true and the Trust is now putting in measures to ensure that the problems that were identified will be dealt with. Chairman Naaz Coker publicly thanked me at the meeting for drawing these matters to the attention of the St George's Board.