You used to say that if you wanted three opinions then ask 2 doctors. We are a fractious argumentative bunch, and hold decisive points of view, and argue regularly.
However, today is a landmark day where every single medical blogger I read talks with unanimity about the problems at Mid-Staffordshire NHS trust. The ferret, Dr Crippen, Dr Rant and Dr Grumble all seem to agree that the fault of Mid-Staffordshire is a systemic one, and lands firmly in the laps of Government, Government Policy and Senior figures in the Professions who have 'gone over to the dark side.'
This is a hideous indictment of 12 years of labour managerial incompetence, and they are managing to bring a service to its knees.
There are at least 400 people who died at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, and their blood is on the hands of those who set up these systems. Don't believe that Mid-Staffordshire is an isolated case, because we (the ordinary professionals) know it isn't.
The break-up of the NHS is gathering pace, and ushered in by people who once might have described themselves as socialist: people like Alan Milburn, Patricia Hewitt, John Reid and Alan Johnson. These people need to take a long hard look in the mirror, and reflect on their role in this systemic problem.
Where is 'Professor' David Colin-Thome in all of this? He used to be a GP (retired now) and he must have been told on a daily basis about the decline in standards and staffing. Does he not know about Clostridium Difficile or MRSA? Does he not realise what was going on when he rang the local hospital to be put through to a 'practitioner?'. Did he ignore the horror stories the patients told him when they came out of hospital? He is the Primary Care 'Tsar'. He has been in post for a decade. Why was nothing done?
Is this in the CMO's annual report? Or is that report just a combination of self-congratulatory bullshit and pious public health aspiration? Maybe 'Sir' Liam Donaldson can tell us why this catastrophe has occurred on his watch. He has been in post for a decade. He is a 'Professor' and a knight of the realm. He must have been aware of these issues.
We owe it to those who died not to remain silent.
Gordon saying 'Sorry' is not enough.
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4 comments:
good well said
glad to see some clarity and acceptance of some of the many nhs failures
we still disagree on the solutions, but hey you'll get there eventually
The NHS has been in steady decline for at least 40 years to my knowledge. Governments of both political colours have been equally to blame and there is no good reason why either of them should be allowed to govern again - except that, in all probability, millions of NHS patients will ensure that one of them does just that.
As a Child Psychiatrist I used to see children who would do something dreadful to their brother or sister and then say sorry. When they are a bit older they will claim it is an accident. Some of us are still stuck at that stage.
The Cockroach Catcher
MRSA st398 in particular is a real life "can of worms" - a real cover-up of serious crime and risk to humans.
I have spent almost decade on this disaster, day after day: there at the beginning, with pigs and in pig country when the horror story started.
We decided on a self-sufficient lifestyle and walked into a nightmare.
There is little doubt that MRSA in pigs has been leaking into the hospitals for some years.
There was a nasty mutation to a porcine circovirus in Britain in 1999 which caused an epidemic that required huge quantities of antibiotics to handle the consequences.
MRSA in pigs was the result, usually the ST398 strain. Maybe even C.Diff 027 also found in pigs and pork.
The Dutch picked up the problem about four years ago and commendably made everything they knew public.
Both circovirus and MRSA epidemics have now travelled the world along with accompanying cover-ups. It is quite a nasty situation - now coming to light in the USA.
MRSA st398, mutated circovirus and various other unpleasant zoonotic diseases have now reached American pig farms.
The people exposing the scandal in the US are to be commended.
The Soil Association in Britain has picked up the fact that despite the Chief Medical Officer picking up on MRSA in livestock in his annual report, Defra's vets are still refusing to report the results of testing ordered by the EU. They wrote in the last few days to Gordon Brown complaining.
I have extensive records available to anyone researching the link and can often answer general questions quickly and accurately.
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Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com
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