THE INSPECTOR WHO INSPECTED TOO HONESTLY
Dr Shyam Kumar @ukorthopod is an orthopaedic surgeon. A good one. Unblemished record. So the Care Quality Commission (@CareQualityComm) recruited him as a part-time inspector to help hold NHS hospitals to account.
He took the job seriously. Too seriously, it turns out.
Between 2015 and 2019 he raised concerns about botched hospital inspections, a bullying culture inside the CQC itself, and a surgeon at Morecambe Bay whose hip replacement on an elderly patient left her unable to walk.
He asked the CQC to review that surgeon's cases. He was told the trust did not want to do so for reputational reasons.
A Royal College of Surgeons review later found problems with 26 out of 46 of that surgeon's operations.
The CQC's response to Kumar? They called his concerns fanciful. They dug for dirt on him. Then they sacked him.
In September 2022 a Manchester Employment Tribunal ruled he had been unfairly dismissed.
The tribunal found his safety disclosures had directly influenced the decision to get rid of him. The judgment noted that CQC officials spent their energy gunning him down rather than focusing on patient safety.
He was awarded £23,000 for injury to feelings.
Not damages for a ruined career. Not accountability for the officials who ran the smear operation. Just £23,000 and a declaration.
The CQC issued a statement saying it had learnt from the case and improved its processes. A decade earlier it said exactly the same thing after the Mid Staffordshire Public Inquiry found it had victimised its own whistleblowers then too.
The system that was built to protect patients ran a seven-year campaign against the man raising the alarm.
Then it said sorry and carried on.
Source: @BBCNews, The Guardian, BMJ, Westminster Confidential (@davidhencke)
Arav Shetty hit his second century for the Second XI, making an impressive 139 in a first innings of 448, with Ollie Sutton contributing 67, at a rain-hit Grace Road on the second day.
🌹 #RedRoseTogether
The Second XI reached 334-6 on the opening day of their friendly at Leicestershire with George Bell making 91 and Arav Shetty an unbeaten 80.
🌹 #RedRoseTogetheThe Second XI reached 334-6 on the opening day of their friendly at Leicestershire with George Bell making 91 and Arav Shetty an unbeaten 80.
🌹 #RedRoseTogether
@RoyLilley@nursemaiden For many years, at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, a very small group of us campaigned for more beds and more hospital staff to run them. This was not really visionary thinking, given a growing and ageing UKpopulation. We were comprehensively ignored. @RCollEM@NHSGIRFT
@DaleSteyn62@shamsi90 So they bat aggressive before the last hour to get to a milestone and lose a wicket doing that. With no pure batter left England decide they want to play the whole hour to get a win .How does that work
An unbeaten century by George Bell and 90 not out from Arav Shetty helped Lancashire Second XI clinch a convincing eight-wicket victory against Sussex 👏
Read yesterday's match report ⤵️
🌹 #RedRoseTogether
At tea, we had the pleasure of being joined by Ravi in the TMS box.
Ravi is blind. He is a huge cricket fan and plays Super 1s. He is also part of the ECB's 'My Way to Play' campaign.
It was a privilege to have a chat with him - his knowledge of the game puts us to shame!
Really excited to be heading to Abu Dhabi for a 10-day pre-season tour against FC counties. From T20 action to a 2-day red-ball clash, our squad will be out to impress! Follow us for live updates and behind-the-scenes moments. Read more below 👇
https://t.co/soSmfyhuIs…
BREAKING 📰🚨@BMA_Pensions ask @nhs_pensions@michaelkbrodie to report itself to @TPRgovuk
"We feel that NHS doctors are being completely failed by their pension scheme administrator ...due to exceedingly poor administration"
RT /comment👇if fed up with the service as well
1/2 These are always the best moments at SACA. When a young aspiring cricketer gets to test themselves against some of the best in the world! Just 19 years old!
As a neurosurgeon I've taught about the Dunning-Kruger effect.
But it isn't real.
If you think it is, this will be an eye-opener.
If you haven't heard about it before, you will still learn how false ideas can be useful and true ideas can be harmful. 🧵