Government minister backs independent investigation into failings at Barrow hospital
Last updated at 15:33, Wednesday, 20 February 2013
AN independent inquiry should be held into failings at Furness General Hospital and how they were allowed to happen, a top goverment health minister has said.
Dr Dan Poulter, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Health, has written to the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust confirming an external investigation needs to be held into UHMBT and the health regulators responsible for it.
Barrow and Furness MP, John Woodcock, who has seen the letter, has explained its contents to the Evening Mail.
The investigation proposed will not officially be a “public inquiry”, in the sense that evidence will not be heard under oath. However, it will be heard in public and will be completely independent.
Campaigners have been unwavering in their view that UHMBT’s promise of an independently-chaired internal inquiry is not far-reaching enough, and have pushed for more.
Representatives from the Morecambe Bay Inquiry Action group last week met Dr Poulter alongside Mr Woodcock, to make their case.
The health minister has now committed his support for an external independent inquiry, but has said it cannot take place until a police investigation into deaths of mothers and babies in the FGH maternity unit has finished.
Mr Woodcock said: "“Families who lost loved ones in Morecambe Bay hospitals have long pushed for lessons to be learned from their tragedies so the commitment we secured from the health minister last week to a genuinely independent inquiry is a real step forward.
“Just like the report into problems at Mid-Staffordshire, the inquiry must not seek to make scapegoats of dedicated and caring staff; instead, it should learn lessons so we secure the first class care that future generations expect and deserve.”
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: “After months of campaigning for a full inquiry into the failings at the Trust I welcome this announcement by the Minister, which is important progress in the campaign to seek justice for those who have been affected.
“I want to pay tribute to the tenacity of James Titcombe alongside the other campaigners and victims of the failings of the previous management at the Trust who have refused to give up and have continued to fight on for a full inquiry. I hope that this inquiry will help to get these victims the justice they deserve.”
First published at 22:04, Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Why waste a fortune in dwindling taxpayer resources finding someone to blame?
Instead why not spend that money FIXING THINGS pretty damn quickly?Sick to death of government departments investigating themselves to come up with meaningless reports about crap that has already happened feathering the nests of those doing the investigating whilst ensuring those who caused the problems are quietly moved to another job or retired with golden handshakes.Pointless and expensive... sums up the majority of government in this land.
Have your say
so what they are saying is they think there should be a inquiry, but it won't a real inquiry as no one interviewed will be bound under oath to tell the truth,
yes i do think there should be an inquiry but it should be into how our gov has let failing nhs trusts go so far without bieing put in check.
why does this government bielive making masive budget cuts in the nhs will improve services, mbnhs trust still has to save a ridicless amount of money somthing like
£50 million in the next couple of years,
and just one more point IT's not just maternity/scuba that should be under the spotlight, what about the apauling state of our a&e department & oncology department that are alway streached to the limit,
my partner has been treated for cancer at fgh althoug the staff are verry good her after treatment was worse than apauling, no consultant, no weekend staff cover ect, she complained to the trust, about lack of treatment for the condition they had left her in after surgery, four years later she suffers severe pain in her right arm /chest and legs,
the executive did apolagise but also said it was not at fault ,it took them over 7 months to reply to her complaint, this is just not right!!!
I could tell more horror storys about fgh that are all true, but some how i dont think you would belive them!!
Posted by col on 20 February 2013 at 09:24