Anyone with basic nursing training would have recognised the signs of neonatal sepsis in Joshua rather than dismissing his symptoms as ‘normal’ & falsely reassuring my wife & I he was ‘absolutely fine’ when we raised our concerns. How many other families have similar stories?
“Cruelty, negligence, and a profound lack of accountability” is the best way I can describe what the experience of many I have spoken to - including myself - working in the NHS has become in recent years.
For those of us who have spent more than a quarter of a century studying, training, and working within the NHS, coming to terms with its current state brings a complex form of grief. It is not simply disappointment or frustration - mourning is the correct term to describe it. The NHS has always had flaws, but it genuinely was never this bad before.
My involvement in the Letby case has accelerated my gradually worsening loss of faith. I did not choose to speak up about the Letby case naively. Over many years, I have supported people raising concerns about patient safety and have witnessed first-hand the familiar patterns of whistleblower retaliation, scapegoating, and institutional self-preservation. I thought I knew what both individuals and institutions were capable of.
As an instructed expert, I examined the full medical records for all of the babies involved. I subsequently reviewed the medical expert reports and all communications that preceded what can only be described as the persecution of Letby prior to her prosecution. That direct exposure - both to the clinical material and to the institutional correspondence - fundamentally shifted my perspective from a belief that “we can still make this better” to the more unsettling fact that “it is over, isn’t it”.
I have never before seen an example in which not only multiple individuals but also multiple institutions - those meant to safeguard truth, justice, and patient safety - converged in a way that actively enabled a profound miscarriage of justice. What makes it even more disturbing is that some individuals within those systems appeared to recognise that something was deeply wrong, yet the institutions themselves proved unable - or unwilling - to intervene.
Being involved as an instructed medical expert in the Letby case has profoundly altered me, both as a doctor and as a human being. It has shattered the faith I once held in the capacity of most individuals and systems to self-correct when faced with obvious evidence they have made mistakes.
For the first time in my professional life, I no longer believe the NHS is capable of meaningful reform from within. I now find myself instead observing its gradual implosion - which now is I think inevitable - with deep sorrow, hoping that enough wise and compassionate people survive whatever follows, so that they may help rebuild something from the wreckage.
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Lots & lots of people have done all sorts of good work this week, some in really difficult circumstances. But if I had to pick one person this week whose work may bring real change it is @DOckendenLtd Thank you, I hope you have your feet up.
@BBCNews why is there so much extreme coverage and reporting of the weather. Yes it's hot but there are also more pressing issues to concentrate on such as failures in maternity care. Get your priorities in order
So let me get this straight:
- Inflation lower than predicted
- unemployment falling
- small boat crossings falling
- NHS Waiting lists falling
- Interest rates stable
- Asylum hotel use falling
- net migration down 82%
- school attendance up
And Keir’s doing a really bad job?
Yes it's absolutely true - the human race survived hundreds of thousands of years without vaccines.
Most people didn't reach 40 and half the babies never saw their first birthdays but hey, those were the days, right?
Lets' brace ourselves...
Our cost of living is about to rise. Again.
Food.
Petrol.
Mortgages.
Why?
Because Trump needed a distraction from the Epstein files and another opportunity to make himself and his billionaire mates even richer
And the result?
A school full of young girls massacred and one despotic leader replaced by his even more aggrieved son.
I am absolutely LIVID
...and frankly, whatever side you’re on, you should be too.
@marksandspencer it seems you only stock sizes for smaller ladies in stores. I have been told in 2 stores it is policy to only stock up to size 20. Not everyone wants to order online. Is this size shaming and discrimination.
@ShaunLintern Something needs to happen as there is no confidence in midwifery at the moment. A nursing qualification is probably essential. What is happening is shocking to the core.
@BBCNews I am a woman who was pregnant once. If I was referred to as a pregnant person I would feel totally insulted. Men don't carry babies, only women