Thread by @alexander_minh

Observing the NHS England ET hearing at Reading

The claimant wishes to emphasise the importance of learning from babies' deaths

NHSE's barrister is focussing on interpersonal matters

Claimant in the NHS England ET:

Her HSIB manager was formerly: "the SW Supervisor of Midwives"

Does that raise a conflict of interest, because HSIB maternity investigation teams were set up in a hurry and based in the regions, and not centralised?

#MaternitySafety

With regards to disputed issues of detriment, NHS England barrister raises question of whether claimant is unreasonably sensitive

He contends line management was supportive

Claimant said she was in tears

The Benson report on HSIB identified bullying

minhalexander.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/2205-1…

Three senior witnesses for the Claimant in the NHS England ET, who worked at HSIB, have been sworn in

NHSE's barrister elected not to question two of them

Third witness for the claimant, principal author of the Benson report, corroborates some of the Claimant's assertions about covert management restriction of HSIB investigations. Allegedly in person & in groups. Characterised as "gaslighting". Not put in writing, such as emails.

Third witness in NHS England ET contends that the Claimant, like many other HSIB maternity investigators, was trained to follow HSIB's Directions but then had to work under managers who did not work to the same framework and did not follow the HSIB directions

Some of the Benson report's concerns about HSIB's maternity investigations programme

minhalexander.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/2205-1…

Claimant in NHS England ET is giving evidence again

NHSE barrister running through standard approaches to disputing whether protected disclosures were made

Such as how a disclosure is presented

Including about a serious matter of alteration of medical records

"Falsifying medical records is a crime if it is done with the intention to mislead"

enablelaw.com/information/fa….

Falsification of medical records can comprise an offence under Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 if it meets the criteria for an offence under this legislation

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/…

hse.gov.uk/legislation/hs…

PIDA qualifying disclosures include breaches of law & H&S issues

Knowingly providing false information to an HSIB investigation is also an offence

Disclosures about such an act would therefore be qualifying whistleblowing disclosures under PIDA

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/31/…

Observing the continuing the NHS England ET

NHSE's barrister asserts there was a difference between escalating to a manager and whistleblowing

NHSE has still not given me agreed access to ET bundle. I have not received an access link. NHSE told Tribunal it sent this on Friday

Claimant at the NHS England ET asserts:

A lot of maternity investigators flagged issues and they were bullied, they put their heads above the parapet, so they left

I finally accessed case bundle after several emails to ET & judge who in turn liaised with NHSE's lawyers DAC Beachcroft who are in control of access

It confirmed NHSE issued an FOI response that was misleading by omission & withheld a vital whistleblowing investigation report

This was a whistleblowing investigation report by Susan Newton Ltd

Susan Newton identified serious failings in the handling of the claimant's concerns & saw these as as "clearly a whistleblowing complaint"

https://twitter.com/alexander_minh/status/1551123448264593409

Although NHS England accepted & acted upon Susan Newton's findings & recommendations by commissioning the subsequent Kings Fund review of culture and leadership at HSIB, it now disputes within the Employment Tribunal process that the Claimant made protected disclosures

Correspondence in the case bundle indicates that Susan Newton not only concluded that the claimant in the NHS England Employment Tribunal had whistleblown, but she reported to NHS England that other HSIB staff started to whistleblow to her during the course of her investigation

If HSIB & NHS England had done the right thing when HSIB maternity investigators first voiced concerns about operational difficulties, staff, the public & the organisation could have been spared so much pain and waste

Why does it have to be so difficult?

https://twitter.com/alexander_minh/status/1650502351902343176

Susan Newton's report that other HSIB staff started whistleblowing to her triangulates with claimant's contention that there were other bullied maternity investigators who spoke up, but then decided to leave HSIB, after a bad experience

#MaternitySafety

https://twitter.com/alexander_minh/status/1650488816602423300