NHS enters ‘dark and dangerous period’

Arguing that public money must not be diverted away from patient care into “the pockets of shareholders”, Dr Jonathan Fielden called for private management consultants to be dropped from the NHS. Addressing the BMA’s annual Consultants Conference, Dr Fielden celebrated successes in the NHS while condemning “aberrant corporate cultures” in some hospitals, which had led to “painful blots on the NHS landscape” such as substandard care at Stafford Hospital. “Waiting times are at an all time low, survival rates are increasing, patient experience is improving,” he said. “However, there have been clear failings where patients have not received the high quality care they deserved.” In such cases, he said that there had been a common theme: targets were put in front of quality, staff were not listened to, while corporate cultures suppressed concerns and disregarded safety. Dr Fielden went on to announce the results of a BMA survey indicating that three quarters (74%) of hospital doctors had experienced concerns about patient safety during the course of their careers. Seven in ten (70%) had raised the issues at their Trust, but their experiences had often been negative, for example because they were unaware that anything had happened as a result (46%) or their Trusts had indicated that by speaking up, their employment could be negatively affected (15.5%). “Doctors must challenge this culture of denial and lead a better way forward,” he concluded.