My Dad blew the whistle
in the NHS
Q- ‘What’s the
difference between a referee and the NHS?’
A-‘In the NHS the
whistleblowers get the red card’
There is something I've been meaning to write for a bit
now……something which as far as I’m aware on my travels in electronic wonderland,
has not been written about before. I am in the family of a whistleblower
in the NHS. In the growing cannon surrounding these people, at one turn utterly
depressing the next so uplifting, this is the one voice which is yet to be
heard.
So, what to say? Well firstly, the whistleblower is my Dad, a paediatrician. Many of those who follow me on twitter will know
who he is. I won’t name him…..just yet.
How did it all begin? For me it began as a growing realization that something was wrong. Dad had been working hard for years. I
mean really working hard. I had left home long ago and only saw him three or
four times a year but each time I did see him he was noticeably more worn, a
little more distracted, and deeply, deeply tired. He would often fall
asleep halfway through the evening or on weekend afternoons when we were together.
I was worried about him. We his children joked about it sometimes, but we all
were. Then, this decline suddenly began to accelerate. It came to a head when
my Mum turned 60. To celebrate, Mum and Dad took us all away, their children
our spouses and their grandchildren to a lovely place in Derbyshire for a few
days. We had a great time. But, Dad…..Dad looked worse than ever. I talked to
Mum and told her, again, that Dad needed to retire early…He had already said he was going to drop some of the more senior management stuff they had thrust upon him (he’d never really
wanted to do this and was only given 3 hours a week for it, the next incumbent
did it full time). To be honest I didn't know what the hell he was doing. I didn't care really, I just wanted him to stop.
Shortly afterwards, he phoned me.
“ I've been sacked
as clinical director.” He sounded terrible.
He didn't fully explain why. At that point I’m not even sure
that he knew the real reasons himself. He believed that he would be cleared and
receive an apology. He carried on with his clinical work.
And so it began in earnest. Willing or otherwise (both were
represented) we, his family, were all pulled into his world….we followed in
real time as the story built. He spoke out again and again (the details are shocking;
you may hear more about them shortly in the news). He was investigated
internally and cleared, He was suspended from work (aren't they all?). He was
accused of being deranged (a common tactic) and without his knowledge an
appointment with a psychiatrist made. He was threatened (eventually they all
are, in one way or another).He was investigated externally and largely exonerated
through what can only be described as a corrupted process. He was bribed with familiar bait (a huge payoff and a better pension) and a familiar hook (leave now and sign a
gagging clause). He withstood it all, and he called them out on every wrong move
they made. That was raging against the dying of the light if ever it was to be
seen, professionally speaking ….they really didn't like that, so they sacked
him.
What drove him? What sustained him? Who knows? I sure as
hell don’t. I like to think of myself as a good person but I know I would never
have trod that particular narrow path and if by some bizarre glitch in my moral
GPS I had stumbled onto it by accident …..I would have taken the money. Yes I fucking would. Maybe that steel comes
with age. I hope so, but I doubt it
.
He rollercoastered the emotional peaks and troughs. He
became properly ill. Still, he dragged himself onwards and we were dragged with
him. I've no doubt it was worse for Mum than any of us. They've been married more
than 40 years and they still love each other. She was utterly faithful to him.
Not all of us were, completely. Some of us just wanted the whole thing to go
away. It was talked about, but he never wavered.
Me? I heard his side of the story, and I raged inside. I fantasized
humiliation and violence upon his assailants. I read the documents written
against him, I wavered. Could it be true? I thought about it long and deep. Was
he at fault? He is a man. He is not perfect. If he was in the wrong I would
still love him and tell him what I thought. Then I read some more and knew he
was right. And I know the man himself. He had devoted his life to the care of children.
He talked about them constantly. He fought time, and money, and sleep, and
other men and women for them. He was away from me and my siblings a lot…..part
of the reason I never wanted to become a doctor. Sure, some of this was to earn
a living and support us, he had chances to earn much more money though. As important
was the part of him that did it for his sick wards. That was always clear to
us. As a child I resented it. Overwhelmed by missing him one weekend that he
was on call I remember hiding in his car on a Monday morning to go with him to
work. When I jumped out from behind the driver’s seat as he parked at the
hospital he laughed and took me in. A day with my Dad I’ll never forget.
One of my great heroes and inspirations was the author and
conservationist Gerald Durrell. His mentor in the natural world was the Greek
scholar and polymath, Theodore Stephanides. When Theo died Gerald said of him. “He
could have been a great man in public, but he chose to be a greater man in
private”. This wonderful tribute describes what my Dad has done perfectly. The
people who know him best know it. It doesn't matter that others don’t, but it
is my fervent prayer that everything he has fought for concerning the protection
of sick children and those who care for them comes to pass.
And what of the things he has fought his
battles for? Well, they are yet to be settled but he has a new one. People like
him (and there are many) who speak out with an unpalatable message to those in power
should be able to do so without fear of
any kind. The GMC says it is their duty.
The BMA says it will support them. Health ministers have said they are
protected. They are not. I have come to know of many good men and women who
have lost money, careers, and partners after whistleblowing. No one with any
muscle has lifted a finger to help them properly. This is a raw injustice, but
then we’re all getting used to that these days aren't we? But see, I am
thinking like a son of the injustice that has befallen his father. If you asked
him he would tell you he only ever did it to try and stop another child being
killed by its parent, or a nurse sworn at in public by a target driven manager,
or babies put at risk by the way their ward is managed. Those children, their parents,
that nurse, and many others, these are the people who those at the wheel of the
good ship NHS are letting down by not protecting the whistleblowers who speak
up for them. My Dad is one of those whistleblowers. I am proud of him.
