A scandal at Stafford Hospital has over 30 doctors and nurses facing
unemployment. There are over 57 healthcare professionals who have been singled
out for investigation over concerns about their conduct in what is thought to be
the largest investigation of clinical staff from a single institution by
professional regulators over standards of care.
In early November, news of scandal arose from Stafford Hospital in the U.K. It
was revealed that up to 1,200 patients may have died needless deaths because
managers tried to cut costs and hit financial targets irrespective of patient
care.
Inspectors last year were alarmed when it was found that hundreds more patients
died than were expected to between 2005 and 2008. They described conditions at
the hospital as "appalling" and "chaotic," with dehydrated patients drinking the
water out of flower vases to try to hydrate themselves, and receptionists making
decisions about treatment for Accident and Emergency patients. The senior nurse
who presided over these and other disastrous changes to the organization of the
hospital's wards was barred for 18 months from working as a nurse in any
capacity.
Action was also taken against Jan Harry, former director of nursing at Mid
Staffordshire Hospitals fro 1998 to 2006. Harry was given an interim suspension
order by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), pending a further
investigation which could permanently bar her from working in such a capacity.
She left Stafford by mutual agreement in June 2006. However, a year later, she
was hired by Dudley Group of Hospitals to run similar cost-cutting programs in
the run up to the organization's bid for foundation status. She then worked at
Salisbury Foundation trust as director of operations between December 2008 and
May 2009. Last month, an NMC panel addressed Harry's "failure in her duty of
care as the Director of Nursing and Clinical Standards to maintain a safe level
of practice surrounding poor infection control and prevention, lack of
governance regarding patient safety and risk management." The panel ruled that
"An interim order was necessary on the grounds of broad protection of the
public."
The panel ruled that "Mrs Harry was in a senior position with responsibility for
the delivery of high quality patient care, and given that these allegations
ranged over a considerable period of time, the panel concluded that there would
be a risk of repetition should the registrant be in a similar role in the
future.
"Also the panel were concerned over the registrant's lack of insight and
apparent state of denial in relation to the range of failings alleged and her
corporate responsibilities as an executive nurse."
It concluded: "These are serious allegations which go to the very heart of
patient care, which allegedly resulted in patients being put at risk of serious
harm."
The NWC panel said it "recognised that such an order may damage her reputation,
but considered that the public interest in this case outweighed those interests
of the registrant".
Investigations have revealed that seven Stafford Hospital staff who were due to
face internal disciplinary hearings avoided censure by quitting their jobs.
Others were also able to find work at other hospitals after quitting. Among
these seven were a midwife, two staff nurses, three healthcare assistants, and
one housekeeper. All seven had been suspended, awaiting disciplinary hearings at
the hospital. Leaving without any sanction being imposed, some found jobs as
close as other hospitals in the region.
Anthony Sumara, chief executive of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust,
acquiesced, "In such cases any references issued by the Trust should have stated
that a member of staff chose to resign during the course of an investigation."
However the failure of the hospital to address or correct such problems has
aroused the anger of the public.
The daughter of one patient who died at Stafford Hospital after suffering
through its wretched conditions, Julie Bailey, said, "These people were involved
in this terrible scandal, but appear to have got off scot free to get jobs
somewhere else where they can reap misery on other people. This is simply
disgraceful." Bailey established Cure the NHS following her mother, Bella's
death. Almost 100 other grieved victims and relatives of victims of the Stafford
scandal will be paid a total of over £1 million following the largest ever group
claim against a single hospital in Britain. Ninety-seven families of patients
who died and victims who survived "appalling" standards of patient care will
receive compensation payments, of up to £27,500.
There are 29 nurses, including Harry, under investigation by the NMC over claims
that they failed to provide adequate care for Stafford Hospital patients. There
are also 28 doctors in current or recent employment at Stafford who have been
referred to the General Medical Council since 2005 over concerns of mispractice,
including at least eight consultants.
A spokesman for NMC said: "We are in the early stages of investigating
complaints about 28 nurses from Stafford Hospital. It is an unusually large
number. Nobody here can recall so many nurses from one hospital being
investigated in this way."
It has been reported that the standards of care at the hospital were so low that
a patient's chance of dying there was double the national average. Some medical
staff at the hospital have been trying to raise attention to these conditions
since as early as 2001.