I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. In the report that I wrote with Tricia Hart on complaints, we made several suggestions and recommendations, which the Government have accepted. I hope that we have a debate similar to today’s on progress in that area in a few months’ time. Professor Sir Mike Richards has promised to campaign on the issue when he goes round the many hospitals that he visits, but it is not possible to say whether complaints will head his list and whether the way in which they are dealt with will be picked up.
The letter that appeared in the Western Mail went on to say:
“A review should look not only at mortality rates. Complication rates, a high number of complaints from patients and their families, or frequent falling out between consultants within the department, all offer useful markers for identifying potential problem areas.
Careful analysis of departmental practice could lead to a prompt and effective change in practice. The Welsh public should be in receipt of all clinical outcome measurements, department by department.
Hysterical responses, such as BMA Cymru’s description of the perceived criticism as ‘wicked slander’…are unhelpful. Our health boards’ first duty of care is to their patients. Our political leaders and BMA Cymru (my own union by the way) should also be reminded that their first duty of care is to the patients and not to our established and very powerful institutions.
I hope that we have no ‘Mid Staffordshire’ in Wales. Our leaders’ current reaction is worryingly similar to the reaction of NHS management in the North of England, where a refusal to listen to constructive concern delayed essential change for many years, with tragic consequences for many families.”
The letter is signed by Dr Dewi Evans, former consultant paediatrician, Swansea Hospitals, who sent it to the Western Mail before he sent it to me.
Warning lights should flash when the governance of a hospital fails to function or to question quality and performance, and boards are in denial about poor standards, possibly because of political pressures. We have already had examples of this in Wales at Betsi Cadwaladr, and the Welsh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has called for a strengthening of performance and accountability procedures across all NHS organisations in Wales. That needs to happen urgently—our boards must raise their game.
Finally, perhaps the greatest step forward in England following the Francis report was the reform of the key regulator, the Care Quality Commission, and the appointment of Professor Sir Mike Richards to the newly established post of chief inspector of hospitals. Sadly, again in Wales, the regulatory system is a shambles. The evidence to the Assembly’s inquiry on Health Inspectorate Wales was shocking. It revealed that the inspectorate was under-resourced, under-skilled, and unable to carry out the annual inspections required, or to follow up its own recommendations. It was unable to hold boards to account. It is startling that its chief executive told the inquiry in November that she was unable to guarantee that there would not be another Mid Staffs in Wales.
I am concerned, too, about the delay in the publication of the report on the inquiry, which was promised in mid-February and should provide the building blocks for the reform of the NHS in Wales. I am sure that it is inconvenient for many for me to speak out in this way about my concerns, but what we all have to learn from
the Francis report and indeed from the brave Julie Bailey of Cure the NHS is that we must not stay quiet, however difficult that might be, when we know that there is a risk to patients.
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