NHS bullies trying to silence another doctor who dared to criticize low standards

Report from Dr Rant this morning that another doctor has been sacked for speaking out about low standards/lack of funding. The article from the local paper is here.

What isn't reported here is just as important as what is: the newspaper piece does not mention the actual reason for Dr Shirine Boardman's dismissal, except to say that "... it does not relate to any issues of patient safety or clinical competence."

This utter failure to report the real reasons for such disciplinary action and clinicians' real reasons for speaking up is almost tantamount to a 'D notice' - where editors are not allowed even to report that they are not allowed to report....

What is it that NHS chiefs are so desperate to hide?

Source

Newspaper article follows:

Specialist doctor sacked by hospital

A Warwick Hospital consultant who set up a health project to help combat diabetes in and around Leamington has been sacked. Dr Shirine Boardman worked at the Lakin Road site as a diabetologist for eight years and established a clinic for Asian people at Leamington's Queensway Community Centre last year. She was sacked by the hospital's bosses on July 22, but is appealing against the decision.

Hospital chief executive Glen Burley said: "Dr Shirine Boardman was dismissed following an internal hearing carried out in accordance with our disciplinary procedures. "We are not going to comment in detail on the nature of the misconduct, but we can say that it does not relate to any issues of patient safety or clinical competence." Dr Boardman declined to comment until after the appeal, but said she was "passionate" about her job.

Chairman of the South Warwickshire Diabetes UK support group David Gent said: "She was our vice-president and we hope that she will continue in that role. "Her loss is going to be great. She will be very difficult to replace because she had a passion for what she did. "She gave us her full support in what we were trying to do - get better services for diabetes patients in this area. "We will have to await the outcome of the appeal, but we hope it will be in her favour and ours."

Dr Boardman was featured in the Courier in June calling for Warwickshire Primary Care Trust to improve services. She said more specialist services in the community, closer working with GPs and greater public consultation could help "transform" it. The Apnee Sehat clinic was created with Warwick University to try and reduce high levels of diabetes, heart disease and stroke in the Asian population. The research clinic, where doctors and nurses have been involved in teaching Sikhs and Hindus about managing and preventing the illnesses, was heralded by the NHS's director of GPs Professor David Colin-Thome as "the start of a new era in community care". Funded by the university and charitable grants, it has been nominated for a number of awards including the NHS's Reducing Health Inequalities social care award.

The Primary Care Trust's former director of public health Dr Tim Davies has said the clinic's future would be reassessed this year based on whether it had achieved better results than the hospital service.

Source




"Dr. Scot" update

Re: Silencing attempt noted here on 15th.

Dr Scot Jnr. was reinstated and went back to work on 16th. The powers that be had managed to keep the story of his dismissal out of the national newspapers/television, incredibly. But bloggers and others took up the story. Once it went global, it's likely that the game was up for the young doctor's bullies.

The story doesn't end there exactly because there has been a formal complaint to the General Medical Council about these senior medical women's behaviour. This is likely to roll on interminably as state bureaucracies do. But there will be a story in that - a sort of test case even.