‘A culture of cover-up and rivalry’

Health Minister Anne Pryke at yesterday’s press conference with Health acting chief executive Richard Jouault (standing) and Verita’s Julian Woolfson, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, Ed Marsden and Derek Mechen Picture: TONY PIKE (00882486)

A FEAR of speaking out, a culture of cover-ups and a lack of common purpose between doctors and civil servants have all been alleged in the damning Health report.
Further claims that too many patients are being referred to the Hospital because GPs make money from referrals, and that consultants have an ‘unhelpful rivalry’ over doing private work have also been made.
During their investigations into the death of former staff nurse Elizabeth Rourke, independent consultants Verita found that many of the people they interviewed made serious allegations about how the Hospital and Health Department were being run.
Verita felt that some of the claims were so serious that they compiled a secondary report highlighting some of the most serious allegations and recommended that further investigations be launched.(from JEP)

Oh Dear,

Lets have a look at the above statement posted by GD calmly.

While yes it is from the JEP it is fairly straightforward and looks to be a true reflection as to what goes on or went on at the Hospital.

The first thing that strikes me is the line.

people they interviewed made serious allegations about how the Hospital and Health Department were being run.

This would suggest health professionals making allegations, not the man in the street.
So what else has happened that is off the radar both medically and financially unknown to the public and politicians? We now know the management wasted half a million on unneeded flue vaccine.

What is also worrying is that there is a lack of common purpose. I have would suggest that most of the front line Doctors nurses try to do an excellent job otherwise why do the years of specialist training?

This leaves the lack of common purpose in the laps of civil servants. Well if the common purpose is to care for the needs of the sick and vulnerable what does the lack of common purpose mean, the opposite? As good and well meaning a person as Anne Pryke is, she needs to resign and leave a place for someone with enough presence and fortitude to restructure the administration at the General, the Verita report is too damming.

It does seem strange that short comings, lack of communication etc etc, by executive management was partly to blame for an unnecessary sad death. Top managers ( non removed ) all work on, happily being paid (I read) around £400 a day.

Lets all remember this is not about fixing roads or lighting the streets this is literally a life and death corporation that we should be proud of and feel one hundred per cent confident in.

English MPs and a peer are having criminal charges instigated for fiddling their expenses with maximum sentence being seven years jail.

Is it not about time we dispensed with the Jersey Way, and got real?

Boatyboy.

The removal of Senator Stuart Syvret,................... no hero no genius, just a man trying to get to the truth, who would you ask for informative accurate information. A person in the street, or your very well paid staff ? What if you found the information offered to be badly lacking or indeed just cover up wrong ?

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It is with real regret and a sense of sadness and indeed of failure that I bring it to the States. I had hoped and believed that the Council of Ministers would see out its term of office intact and as a team. However, recent events dictate that is not to be, and I have no alternative other than to propose the removal of Senator Syvret as Minister for Health and Social Services. I am doing so entirely due to the Minister’s conduct in recent weeks, which is not conducive to the standards I expect from a Minister, clearly breaches the Ministerial Code of Conduct, has undermined his ability to function as Health Minister, and which last but by no means least, has put children more at risk today than they were previously.

4.4 Staff engaged in Social Work and particularly Child Protection

The Minister has written confidential e-mails to many staff and open e-mails to a wider circulation and all States Members. In them he questions the ability of individual or groups of staff. The comments are known by staff, who are increasingly affected and concerned by the Minister’s attacks. A very small selection of the Minister’s comments serves to show what staff are facing –

"What has to be described as grossly inadequate performance of the entire child protection apparatus in Jersey."

"Could someone please explain to me precisely what the purpose of CAMHS is and give me a good reason why I should continue to spend taxpayer’s money on it? Reading this review, my initial response is to sack everyone who works there and close it down."

"…. Ineffectuality, defensiveness, incompetence, collusion and stagnant culture of mutual support within the Jersey Civil Service."

These comments are the made more difficult to reconcile when the Minister then makes conflicting statements such as –

"Firstly, let me repeat again my well-documented view that the vast majority of staff in Health & Social Services do an excellent job."

"I am not aware of any immediate danger to a child at this moment."


Lodged au Greffe on 28th August 2007
by the Chief Minister

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Deputy Anne Pryke faced the media yesterday after the publication of a damning report which looked at how many agencies failed the boy.

She said that lessons had and would continue to be learned, but would not say whether any action was being taken against individuals.

The serious case review, which was published by the Jersey Child Protection Committee – a body charged with overseeing child protection services, found evidence that the boy had been left prey to paedophiles in a home characterised by shocking abuse and neglect.

It made 32 recommendations and found that social services, the courts, the police, schools and other agencies failed the child, to a greater or lesser extent, for 12 years.

Deputy Pryke appeared at yesterday’s press conference as the chairman of the children’s policy group, a States panel charged with child protection. Fellow group members Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand and Education

Minister James Reed were also there.
Article posted on 27th March, 2010 - 2.58pm

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2010/03/27/lessons-have-been-learnt/