The North Staffordshire Whistleblower
The Executive Summary
"And above all else - and however it might have been expressed, it is clear to me that your primary interest has always been to protect patients, rather than in your own career or advancement. You cannot say that of all doctors and for what its worth, I think its greatly to your credit"
Mr Neil Marshall, General Medical Council 26 Jan 2011
RESEARCH PAPER/BOOKS
Whistleblowing and Patient Safety :- The Patients or the Profession's Interests at Stake. Download here.
Two short Kindle Books describe the events in further detail.
1. The North Staffordshire Whistleblower - The Executive Summary. Click here.
2. Mr David Fillingham. The Truth Behind the Mask. Click here.
These are available free of charge to anyone who cannot afford them. Please contact me.
Judgments/Reports.
1. Pal v General Medical Council, Sarah Bedwell, Peter Lynn and Catherine Green 2004.
Download judgments here . The article written by Hammonds solicitors can be accessed here.
2. R v General Medical Council Ex Parte Pal 2007.
A brief article on the issues can be read in the Register.
Contrary to the falsities circulated by writers of Private Eye, I was cleared by the GMC. I subsequently challenged the GMC to prevent doctors from being subjected to vexatious complaints. The case failed mostly due to the litany of dishonest statements by the GMC and also due to an incompetent judge who failed to read. Then Collins J's problems are well known.
3. Expert Report by Steve Bolsin. Click here to read.
4. Pal v General Medical Council featured in the Audit Commission Report. Click here to review.
5. Parliamentary Questions.
a. Debate by Paul Marsden MP. Click here to read.
b. House of Lords. Click here.
This website is dedicated to all those who died needlessly on Ward 87 North Staffordshire NHS Trust. Their families were never informed by the Trust or the authorities in power. No one was held accountable. The consultant in charge of this ward was given a merit award by the Trust. The Chief Executive currently continues to advise the NHS.
My name is Dr Rita Pal. I am the whistleblower for Ward 87 City General Hospital, North Staffordshire NHS Trust, Stoke on Trent. I raised concerns regarding the current government policies of underfunding and rationing resulting in a serious risk to patient safety.
These were my concerns :-
a) Lack of basic equipment such as drip sets
b) Lack of adequate support for junior doctors
c) Lack of basic care for patients
d) Excessive use of DNR [Do not Resuscitate] notices
e) Gross shortage in staffing levels.
The referral of my concerns then led to an illegal enquiry into my personal life by the General Medical Council. The GMC referred to this as the "discrete inquiry". I was branded a “trouble maker”. The enquiry questioned my ability and health. This conclusion was subsequently rescinded following a legal case Pal v General Medical Council. The full story can be read here.
The evidence presented on this website took approximately 10 years to unearth via various complaints, litigation and Data Protection and Freedom of Information Requests. The conclusion of the Creamer Report done internally and concealed from me until 2005
(a) “Patient care was clearly affected by the failures identified
(b) “The Directorate failed to take appropriate action when the allegations were made in a statement by Dr Pal”;
(c) “Although medical and nursing staff were concerned about the range of issues...no one voiced their concerns except Dr Pal which either demonstrated a general acceptance of the issues or staff felt unable to raise concerns”.
Everyone reading this should note that I had no support from the British Medical Association, the Medical Protection Society or lawyers in my long journey to unearth the evidence and vindicate myself.
The Department of Health continues to conceal the full Creamer report as I have only been given a redacted copy. The fight for this copy can be read here.
During the litigation with the GMC, they instigated a complaint against me for defamation. I was cleared after 6 months. Two years later in a separate matter they wrote a letter citing they did not have the powers to handle defamation. They then took up a vexatious complaint in relation to a public link that they deemed confidential. I was fired from my job due to this investigation. I was subsequently cleared in six months. I later discovered that an identical complaint to the GMC was discarded without investigation.
I subsequently allowed my GMC registration to lapse. I did not pay the annual subscription fee as working in the NHS was not sustainable with revolving door vexatious complaints instigated by the regulatory body. I am therefore deemed administratively erased. I have never been tried at the General Medical Council and no patient has ever raised concerns about me.