Tomorrow marks 10 years since the Mid Staffs public inquiry report was published.
I asked Sir Robert Francis KC to sit down with me to discuss the NHS today and his reflections a decade on from his report... #MidStaffs 🧵 1/5
But is the NHS culture better than #MidStaffs era now? 2/5
His biggest concern is for the way NHS staff are being treated and the effect on patients #MidStaffs 3/5
Francis says he still believes the voice of nursing is weak and he thinks regulation of managers is needed #MidStaffs 4/5
Finally, I asked Francis about the tsunami of anger he warned could overwhelm the NHS. He says public anger will come as the crisis deepens but it will be politicians who will feel the brunt of it #MidStaffs 5/5
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🚨 This weekend The Sunday Times paywall is down, meaning my and my colleagues back catalogue of incredible investigations and stories are FREE to read.
I thought I'd give you 5 stories I think deserve your time: 1/6
You hear a lot about bullying and racism within the NHS - rarely have I come across such a bad case as this at Barts that we published recently...
The Sunday Times is campaigning for victims of the sodium valproate drug disaster to get compensation. Why? Because the children and families are suffering like this: 🔓 3/6 thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/…
💔 Ryan and Emmie should have been watching baby Quinn grow up for the past 3 years. Instead, they've had to battle the NHS and its regulator to get the truth for Quinn who died at Nottingham Hospitals from care so bad it has been judged criminal: thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/…
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust was fined £1.67 million in a rare criminal prosecution by the CQC last week over Quinn's death and 2 other babies. But its first response to the couple's detailed 10-page dossier of evidence was a brutal 2 sentence email:
Quinn died after being starved of oxygen because his mother had a placental abruption - staff didn't give them safety advice, call logs went missing and medical records were incorrect. The trust was described as obstructive by the coroner. It admitted liability only last year.
🚨 INVESTIGATION: 1,540 children across England have been misdiagnosed by NHS hearing tests. Leaked @NHSEngland documents reveal concerns at 90 units. Insiders say NHSE hasn't acted despite evidence of the scale of harm 🧵1/8 thetimes.com/article/e23d4f…
Papers marked 'official sensitive, restricted and confidential' (🤣) detail widespread systemic failings in paediatric audiology testing. 480 children have been moderately or severely harmed, in other words left without hearing aids and at risk of permanent development delays 2/8
Health secretary @wesstreeting was only briefed about the crisis on Friday last week...he told me: "This is an appalling state of affairs...it is outrageous that these failings will have potentially serious developmental consequences for children." 3/8 thetimes.com/article/e23d4f…
🚨 ICYMI in yesterday's print Sunday Times - One of England's largest and high profile NHS trusts @GSTTnhs may need a bail out from @DHSCgovuk to cover day to day spending. It is part of a wider £4.5bn spending crisis sweeping the NHS 🧵 1/7
Hospitals across England have been told to cut costs and consider closing some services. At @GSTTnhs staffing costs needed to be cut by a third in the year ahead, equivalent to £55 million with another £39 million in savings needed from other areas 2/7
If @GSTTnhs can't get control of an underlying £84m deficit it may need a loan from the NHS to cover costs. Info sent to staff below: 3/7
🚨 How did Salford Royal Hospital - dubbed the safest in England - fail to investigate the death of a teenager and allow a dangerous surgeon to continue operating for 7 years, harming dozens of patients?
I've been asking questions for 8 yrs. Let me tell you about it...🧵1/9
In 2007, Catherine O'Connor died after losing 14 litres of blood. An expert review in 2022 said spinal surgeon John Bradley Williamson's “unacceptable and unjustifiable” actions “directly contributed” to her death. Read more here: 2/9 thetimes.co.uk/article/surgeo…
A major report by a barrister brought in to examine Salford Royal's handling of concerns about Williamson was published this week. It details significant governance failures by Salford Royal when Sir David Dalton was CEO 3/9
🚨 INVESTIGATION: Top NHS boss Sir David Dalton was warned about a 'butcher' surgeon in 2014 harming patients. Now his victims want a full recall of patients, backed by a whistleblower doctor who says he knows more have been harmed 🧵1/7 thetimes.co.uk/article/cd69ae…
Spinal surgeon John Bradley Williamson harmed dozens of patients in botched surgery at Salford Royal, Spire Manchester and Manchester Children's Hospital. Injuries includes misplaced spinal screws, catastrophic bleeding, paralysis and disability 2/7
A review of patients over a 5 year period found multiple cases of harm. Now victims say all his patients should be reviewed.
Michelle Nolan takes morphine daily for pain and has been told by Spire her care was sub-standard "People deserve the truth, lives have been ruined" 3/7