Letter To John Reid
19th October 2003
Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP
Secretary of State For Health
House of Commons
Westminster
London
SW1A OAA
Dear Dr Reid
You will not know me, but I am currently involved in an employment tribunal case with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust. I had worked in the public sector and the NHS in particular for over thirty years with a completely unblemished disciplinary record and then in 2002 was dismissed from my employment without the correct procedures being followed and without any right of appeal after among other things uncovering the fraudulent reporting of cancelled operations figures at St George’s Trust and reporting the seriousness of the underlying financial deficit. I am confident that I will win my employment tribunal case, but I have to say I will have done so without the slightest help from the NHS.
I have written to Sir Nigel Crisp on several occasions to tell him that I have written evidence that shows further wrong doing in the NHS and that this should be properly investigated. I also wrote to your predecessor Alan Milburn (see copy attached) but did not receive the courtesy of a reply. Sir Nigel has proved particularly reluctant to acknowledge that the matters I have raised with him should be investigated, although I have found that when I make a high profile media appearance such as the BBC Hardtalk programme, then he changes his mind and reverses the refusal contained in his previous letters and acknowledges in writing that an investigation should be held even if it is one that is clearly not appropriate to the circumstances.
I appeared on the BBC Panorama programme “Fiddling the figures” which was broadcast on the 22nd June to speak about some of these issues and the fact that St George’s Hospital does not comply with vital fire and other health and safety legislation. I have recently done some work with the Times and Daily Mail newspapers which is to be published shortly and I will also be publishing a website where all the documents relating to the issues that Sir Nigel Crisp has refused to allow to be independently investigated will be published, so that the public can make up their own mind as to whether the issues I am raising have been properly dealt with.
My purpose in writing to you now is that I do not want you to be able to say that if only I had brought this matter to your attention you would have done something about it. I enclose a copy of the letter that I sent to Sir Nigel Crisp outlining the issues that he should have arranged to have had independently investigated and this along with this letter and the letter I sent to Alan Milburn will be published on my website, which the media have promised to publicise once my employment tribunal case judgement has been issued. All I have ever asked is that the matters I have raised with Sir Nigel Crisp should be investigated and that this investigation should have been an independent one.
I would hope that you would use your authority to ensure that an independent investigation does takes place, but if you do not I will make it clear on my website that the NHS under your leadership is neither open nor accountable.
Yours sincerely
Ian Perkin CPFA FRSA