ABUSIVE NHS HOSPITAL

A hospital for people with learning disabilities, at the centre of an investigation into patient abuse, will close. The Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, which runs Budock Hospital, near Falmouth, was criticised in a report for “widespread institutional abuse” of patients. The report, part of an inquiry by the Healthcare Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), was published this month, describing years of abusive practices, “underlying problems that have never been addressed” and the failure of senior trust executives to face up to concerns. It is understood that 14 people with learning disabilities at Budock Hospital will be relocated by December. The Cornwall Partnership Trust will also be handing over the care of nearly 170 people in 46 community homes. A spokesman for the trust confirmed that the hospital would close.

Several treatment centres and units for people with learning disabilities were investigated throughout 2005 after allegations of abuse first surfaced in October 2004. Government inspectors found evidence of 64 incidents of abuse over the five years to last October, including staff hitting, pushing and dragging people in their care. There were also reports of staff withholding food, forcing patients to take cold showers and relying too much on medication to control behaviour. Staff also restrained people illegally. The investigation team found that one person spent 16 hours a day tied to their bed or wheelchair, with staff “wrongly believing” it was for the patient’s own protection. The report also revealed that one person suffered multiple injuries over time, including a fractured skull.

During the investigation 40 people with learning disabilities were referred by a CSCI and the Healthcare Commission to Cornwall County Council under the procedure for the protection of vulnerable adults. A few weeks after the East Cornwall branch of the charity Mencap first raised concerns, seven staff were suspended by the trust, five of whom have since been dismissed. Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, has announced an audit of all services in England for people with learning disabilities who are in NHS or private-sector care.

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Another killer doctor in a Queensland public hospital

Officials at one of Queensland's top hospitals approached the family of a dead patient to offer an out-of-court settlement after discovering that her surgeon -- a respected professor of medicine -- had a questionable safety record. Nardia Annette Cvitic, a 31-year-old mother of two, died from massive blood loss and organ failure after a hysterectomy performed by Bruce Ward at the Mater Hospital in 2002. A coronial inquest has heard that the operating theatre after Cvitic's operation resembled the scene of the Granville train disaster in NSW in the 1970s. A drain inserted into her pelvic area apparently punctured a major vein, a mistake compounded by Dr Ward wrongly prescribing a blood-thinning agent.

Documents obtained by The Australian show that guardians for Cvitic's two sons were approached by Mater officials in early 2003 and encouraged to make a medical negligence claim for "loss of dependency". The Mater had earlier commissioned a surgical audit from two professors who examined Dr Ward's treatment of 10 patients, including Cvitic, and warned "something is radically wrong and it cannot continue". Russell Strong and Alex Crandon identified problems with Dr Ward's surgical techniques, communication skills, post-operative care and judgment.

After being urged to pursue a claim, lawyers for Cvitic's family entered negotiations with Dr Ward's three employers -- the Mater, the Queensland Government and the University of Queensland -- and sought medical and psychiatric opinions on the impact Cvitic's death had on her two young sons. But it was not until Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements began public hearings in March this year that the claim was accelerated, with a mediation hearing in April setting out the proposed settlement amounts.

District Court judge Helen O'Sullivan approved the settlement last week, a legal requirement given the age of the beneficiaries. Cvitic's youngest son, a 10-year-old diagnosed after his mother's death with Asperger's syndrome, will have $115,000 held in trust, while her eldest son, 16, will have $60,000 held in trust. Dr Ward's employers will pay legal and administration costs, but the figures represent only what Cvitic would have provided for her children had she not died, and do not cover damages or compensation, even though dependency claims are usually an acknowledgement of negligence.

Ms Clements -- who will decide whether Dr Ward should face manslaughter or criminal negligence charges over Cvitic's death -- has yet to set a date for the resumption of public hearings in the inquest. Dr Ward's lawyers could not be contacted last night, nor could members of Cvitic's family. Dr Ward was a professor at the University of Queensland for 10 years but left in 2003. While the Medical Board of Queensland has maintained his registration, he has lost the right to operate at the Mater and other public hospitals, but is understood to still work at Brisbane's Sunnybank Private Hospital.

Australian Lawyers Alliance state president-elect Ian Brown said dependency claims were capped by the state Government. "Dependency claims, just like all others, are governed by the unfair restrictions of the liability reforms," Mr Brown said.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?

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