Showing posts with label #ICO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ICO. Show all posts

Sunday 30 August 2020

#BCUHB Protecting Whistleblowers Or Their Managers ?

A recent #QSE report from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board casts a little more light on the debacle surrounding the Robin Holden report, completed in 2013 but still not released by BCUHB, even after the recent Information Commissioner's Office ruling to publish under the FOIA. 

BCUHB have appealed this decision and a tribunal hearing is expected in early 2021.

The Quality, Safety & Experience report makes mention - 
It is vital the Health Board is able to give confidence to its community and stakeholders that the recommendations from the Holden Report (2013) have been implemented and sustained. The Executive Medical Director and Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery/Deputy CEO have commissioned work to validate that the recommendations have been implemented and remain in place at this current time...

...This work, due to the need to robustly validate the evidence, is aiming to be completed by the end of September for executive scrutiny and reporting to the QSE Committee at its next meeting in October 2020.

The report, authored by Matthew Joyes, Acting Associate Director of Quality Assurance who is also the Assistant Director of Patient Safety and Experience at the health board is titled 'Holden Report - Update' and is for the attention of Responsible Directors, in this case - David Feanley, Executive Medical Director and Gill Harris, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery/Deputy Chief Executive.  

Bearing in mind, the Holden report was completed 7 years ago, it is concerning that only now 'responsible directors' are working towards ensuring that Holden's 19 recommendations have been implemented and sustained within the regions Mental Health Units.

Or is this ongoing work only now taking place to circumvent the ICO tribunal next year by presenting 'evidence' that all is now well in the mental health field and argue that the matter should be closed ? 

The update states that the Executive Director of Nursing and Patient Services made a personal visit to the Hergest Mental Health Unit in July, 2013, in order to speak to a number of staff who had raised concerns. A letter, dated 26th July, 2013, confirmed the exact nature of the allegations made by staff, also informing of a staff members petition of "No confidence in the Managment of the Mental Health Clinical Programme Group in their dealings with the Hergest Unit."  

The claimed institutional abuse within the BCUHB units, that included frail, elderly with dementia alongside other mental health patients, not only affected patients but staff, too.

Who were the managers responsible for the Mental Health Clinical Programme Group that failed so terribly ? Are the actions of BCUHB only to protect the managers and not the whistleblowers as claimed ?

Something is very wrong within the local government organisations of North Wales.