NHS GAGGING DRS CONCERNED ABOUT POOR PATIENT CARE

FT: NHS accused of gagging doctors’ concerns

Outlawed gagging clauses are still being used by the National Health Service to silence concerns about patient safety, the British Medical Journal said on Tuesday.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act provides protection for people who blow the whistle, providing they have raised concerns with their employer, and it specifically overrides any agreement aimed at preventing proper disclosure.

Furthermore, even before the 1998 act came into force, it was the health department’s policy that confidentiality or gagging clauses should not be used in the NHS, a stance they have since reinforced.

But the case of Peter Bousfield, a consultant who raised fears about patient safety at the Liverpool Women’s NHS Trust, illustrates that such clauses are still in use, the BMJ said.

1. IF THE SYSTEM WORKED THEN THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO RESORT TO INTIMIDATING DOCTORS INTO SILENCE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LAW.
2. IF IT HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO WORK IN THE UK - WHERE THE BRITS - WHO ARE FAMOUS FOR HOW WELL THEY RUN THINGS - HAVE BEEN AT FOR 60 YEARS, THEN IT CAN'T WORK ANYWHERE.

AND DON'T TELL ME MEDICARE AND MEDICAID WORK WELL WITH LOW OVERHEADS COMPARED TO "FOR PROFIT" HEALTH INSURERS:

THEY RUN $60 BILLION DOLLAR A YEAR DEFICITS.

WE DON'T NEED MORE OF THAT.

WE NEED LESS.

• WE DON'T NEED AN EXPANSION OF MEDICARE, WE NEED A REFORM OF MEDICARE.

• WE NEED TORT REFORM AND NATIONAL COMPETITON.

• AND WE NEED TO GIVE INDIVIDUALS THE SAME TAX BREAK WE GIVE BUSINESSES.