NHS' mistake 'betrayed my wife' – widower

“Bear that in mind the next time you need an ambulance and an NHS one turns up, MariusXXVI. You can send it away and ask for a private one so you can be treated like a 'customer'. Perhaps we could apply your logic to the Fire Brigade? How much are you willing to pay for them to rescue you if your house is on fire and your backside is getting a bit warm?”

“Physician!
Heal thyself!”

“From my personal experience, the diagnosis of "A festering wound in the heart of Bristol" is applicable to the "Trust" as a whole ( speaking broadly). Twenty years of experience in different departments has treated me to a procession of rudeness, contempt, discounting, misrepresentation and mockery from all grades of staff, who take out their discontent and frustration, or indifference on those perceived as vulnerable and unlikely to have the wherewithal for redress. But, then, I'm "different".
Management are tools of the drug companies and equipment suppliers, employing the most devious trickery to cover up faults and failings. "The customer is always wrong." could well be the motto of the callous, cash fixated bureacracy that is the new NHS, and patients are no more than money making opportunities.
Corporate egotism demands ever more and more, the latest techniques and equipment, at ever increasing cost, both to the nations pocket and human dignity. For Mankind does not live by bread, alone.
The simple fact is that the NHS is no longer (if it ever was) motivated by caring and compassion, but by greed and ostentation; the aggrandisement of weak egos who would presume to cure all ills.
The medical profession is not driven by care, but by fear, and hatred, of illness.
By extension it is driven, at root, by fear and hatred of the suffering patient, and in particular the patient not easily curable by the quick fix of an expensive course of medication or surgical procedure.
Hence we have impatience, indifference, and self-seeking, where the patient is to be processed and disposed of as quickly as possible. As in any other business, turnover is everything...if that means the "difficult" case ends up littering the pavement, or in the morgue, then so be it.
Why is this carbuncle permitted to proliferate in the heart of Bristol? Adding to the traffic congestion and chaos and misery of an already overcrowded city centre?”

“I hope that Mr Hill has made a formal complaint to the GMC, and that he will keep pushing the GMC to ensure that disciplinary measures are taken. The purpose of this as far as the general public are concerned, is that the highest possible standards of care are provided, with full integrity. Real people want and need this, and are more concerned with this than they are over Drs appearing to behave professionally. If you look on the GMC website you will see that the GMC are more concern over a Dr soliciting, as it is not the image they want, than they are over treating patients. Shocking! Perhaps the GMC need to examine their own intent and ask the general public what they require of the medical profession. I would suggest that well trained, skillful and competent Drs are the first requisite, closely followed by integrity, compassion and understanding.”

“Commenter42

Yes everyone makes mistakes. The issue in Bristol is that avoidable Histopathology mistakes, made by doctors earning over £75,000 per year, have been covered up and lessons have not been learned. There is some excellent NHS healthcare in Bristol, but it is tainted by what one of the victims of misdiagnosis, accurately described as "A FESTERING WOUND IN THE VERY HEART OF BRISTOL, SUPPURATING AND INFECTING US ALL."

In Bristol of all places, one would expect the lessons of the BRI Heart Scandal to have been learned, but apparently not.”

“No Hospital Safe!”

“Everyone makes mistakes. Why do the press not cover the hundreds of thousands of successful treatments and operation carroied out by the NHS every year?”

“Yet more scary things from local hospitals.”

“Well maybe you want it to all go Private then do you MariusXXVI .we have a lot better NHS than lots of other countries.”

“When will Mr Woolley, an NHS public servant, stop insulting the intelligence of the public by trying to tell it what to believe? When will he realise that the overall findings of both his Inquiry and the Care Quality Commission DO NOT give patients the reassurance they deserve?

The Inquiry did not answer the crucial question "are the allegations of misdiagnosis true?" We have evidence to show that they are true.

The Inquiry Report contains many statements that indicate the service is not safe.

We wonder whether Mr Woolley has actually read the Care Quality Commission's August 2011 report on his histopathology service. If he had, he would realise that it found evidence of, among other problems, lack of clear clinical governance for management of misdiagnoses.

The GMC (General Medical Council) has confirmed it is investigating a pathologist as a result of the Inquiry.

What does Mr Woolley find reassuring about all this?

Mrs Brunt says that when Mrs Hopes died there had been some discussion within the Trust that her original biopsy may have been incorrectly diagnosed as benign. We do not know what she means. In 2003 North Bristol doctors were in no doubt that Mrs Hopes had been misdiagnosed at UH Bristol.

Our message for Mrs Brunt is, yes, it is extremely regrettable that Mrs Hopes was not informed about her misdiagnosis. However, why single out one consultant? Surely former UH Bristol and NBT Medical Directors Jonathan Sheffield and Martin Morse and current NBT Medical Director Christopher Burton were ultimately responsible for ensuring that Mrs Hopes and her next of kin were informed as soon as they knew she was misdiagnosed?

Withholding information from patients and relatives also appears normal for Chief Executives. Mrs Brunt and Mr Woolley did not tell any of the 26 misdiagnosis victims/families that their cases were being reviewed by the Inquiry until it finished and even then we have no firm proof that they told all of them. We do not believe that parents of children harmed by misdiagnoses have been told at all.

If Mrs Brunt and Mr Woolley want their consultants to behave properly towards patients and their families and for the public to trust them and their Trust Boards, they have to take the lead and act as role models. They show no sign that their culture and behaviour has changed at all.

Jane Hopes died from breast cancer without ever knowing she was misdiagnosed when her cancer was at a curable stage. Jane was a Senior Manager in cancer services at NBT but still her Trust colleagues never told her. What hope do the rest of us have if they treat 'one of their own' like that?

We are aware of at least another 12 cases in addition to the 26. As one of the doctors who raised misdiagnosis concerns observed, it may be the tip of the iceberg.

That is why we formed South West Whistleblowers Health Action Group (SWWHAG) – for truth and NHS public accountability, starting with the Histopathology Inquiry.

South West Whistleblowers Health Action Group

contact us at:

swwhistleblowers@gmail.com



http://tinyurl.com/6yt7bpw”