Dr David Drew
Little Stories of Life and Death @NHSWhistleblower is the first detailed account by a senior doctor of how whistleblowers are dealt with by senior NHS managers. It is set in the context of my generally happy professional life and my extremely happy personal life. It’s a serious book about life and death through a doctor's eyes, spiced with humour and anecdote to help its digestion.
You recognise the good things about the NHS as well as the bad – tell us what you feel is being done right, as well as what is being done wrong.
The NHS is a blessing to us. I would have died twice last year and my wife would have lost her sight had it not been for the prompt expert treatment we both received in NHS hospitals. We have one of the best and most efficient health services in the world. At present though the NHS is becoming increasingly under-funded as a result of the Coalition's austerity programme. The advent of managerialism with the consequent disempowerment and disengagement of clinical staff has altered the whole culture. Many staff are now afraid to report poor or inadequate care or even patient harm. Those such as myself who do are often ignored, harassed or hounded out. The Health Minister and Department of Health make public statements in support of whistleblowers but show little inclination to engage with them. This holds back the development of safe patient care and makes further disasters like Mid Staffs more likely.
What was it like landing the job of NHS consultant at Walsall Manor Hospital?
I was delighted to land the consultant post at Walsall. Walsall is not everyone's idea of a holiday destination but its people are down to earth and very friendly. It is an economically deprived area and after many years working in other such situations I felt immediately at home. The hospital was pretty much in a healthcare stone age when I first arrived in 1987 but the medical and nursing staff were absolutely marvellous. I remember those first years as some of the happiest in my life.
When did you start to feel that the standard of care was slipping?
I first became concerned in 2008. The hospital was forced to cut costs to pay for the mortgage on a new Private Finance Initiative hospital it was building. Three managers were appointed to oversee this or perhaps I should say, strong arm it through. A Royal College of Paediatrics panel later judged that these managers had no experience or qualification in paediatrics, were managerially aggressive and failed to engage with experienced senior doctors and nurses. It was from this point that things started to go badly wrong.
How long did it take you to decide to speak up, and what was going through your mind at the time?
I have always spoken out when I have seen anything wrong. I started to raise concerns as soon as that happened in 2008. I raised serious concerns, which are only now being properly addressed, about a child who had died following catastrophic safeguarding failures and the hospital's poor response to this. Children's lives were being put at risk in an overcrowded ward in an old building with a steam heating system that repeatedly broke down over 2 very cold winters. Nursing care was often compromised as a result of job shedding. It would have been worse had the golden-hearted nurses not worked many hours for no pay to maintain care.
What was going through my mind over that period was that the paediatric department was heading for disaster. A child had already died following the hospital's negligence. I was anxious that others would die or be otherwise harmed. I was afraid a lot of the time. I slept badly and had recurrent nightmares.
What made you decide to tell your story through a book?
I wrote initially under duress. My oldest son Simon is a person with a strong social conscience and more insight than I had into the importance of my story for the whole NHS and beyond. Once he helped get me going I became an enthusiast. Ernest Hemingway said that it's easy to write: "You just sit at a typewriter and bleed." I've done that. Writing Little Stories has been painful but has had an unexpectedly therapeutic effect.
What impact do you hope your book will have?
I quote from my preface: "I tell my story for one purpose only: to hasten the advent of an NHS culture in which frontline staff are treated with the respect they deserve, enabling them to concentrate on excellent patient care." NHS staff surveys show that around 25% of staff report experiencing bullying. They are often afraid to speak when they see things that are wrong. How can that be in an NHS conceived to care for the sick? Bullied and harassed staff cannot give their best to sick patients. Little Stories shows, in sickening detail, how such a culture operates.
What is next for you?
Whistleblowers have been betrayed by the Department of Health and the government. Following their consciences and professional codes whistleblowers have spoken up for patients and suffered as a result. Many have lost their careers, their health and financial security and marriages. They have been ruined by hostile senior managers and NHS lawyers. This should concern everyone. The governments betrayal of whistleblowers is a betrayal of patients. I want to see the government and Department of Health address this injustice and take definitive action to put it to an end. I will continue to campaign with other whistleblowers on this until someone listens.