A WHISTLEBLOWER claims the trust which runs Furness General Hospital is facing issues in its urology department “on the same scale as the maternity scandal”.
Respected consultant urologist Peter Duffy quit his job in July 2016 amid concerns patients were being put at risk.
One doctor Kavinder Madhra, left his role last month nine days after the General Medical Council imposed a raft of conditions on his working as a doctor after launching an investigation.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) medical director David Walker said: “Any concerns raised about Mr Madhra’s practice were thoroughly investigated by the trust. Earlier this year Mr Madhra took the decision to leave his employment with the trust. He did not receive any ex-gratia payment and was only paid his contractual entitlements.”
Mr Duffy, who was named Doctor of the Year during his time with UHMBT, was awarded £102,000 by an employment tribunal in August after he was ruled to have been unfairly dismissed.
Since his employment tribunal case was concluded last Friday, when the hospital trust’s application for costs from Mr Duffy was rejected, The Mail has published a series of articles relating to some of the 27 specific incidents which led to his resignation.
Trust investigation reports seen by The Mail reveal bosses acknowledged the errors were unacceptable but the trust has maintained lessons have been learned.
“My reason for speaking out is to protect patients but my worry is that something on the same scale of the maternity scandal is looming,” Mr Duffy told The Mail.
UHMBT runs Furness General Hospital, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital.
Both Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock and Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron have voiced concerns about the errors within the urology department.
Mr Farron has since met with Mr Duffy and has called on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to investigate.
The CQC is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England.
READ WHAT THE CQC HAS TO SAY HERE
“Having met with Peter this week, I’m deeply concerned by his story,” Mr Farron said.
“I’m having conversations with the CQC asking them to look into the matter and speaking to the trust to get to the bottom of these extremely worrying claims. The safety of patients must never be put in jeopardy.”
Barrow MP John Woodcock said while it was important the trust be given the opportunity to respond to and contest the claims he was “concerned” about Mr Duffy’s allegations.
“Mr Duffy’s claims on the suffering of local urology patients are very serious indeed and they must be properly and fairly investigated,” Mr Woodcock said.
“The determination of grieving parents who lost babies and loved ones in Morecambe Bay was a key factor in the new nationwide commitment to transparency across the NHS where whistleblowers are supposed to be valued not suppressed.
“This is a critically important test of whether Morecambe Bay trust and the wider NHS can live up to its promise never again to put patients at risk by sweeping claims of poor practice under the carpet.
“If the trust contests the claims and the way they are being presented it must be given a fair hearing to do so, and we should be prepared to reserve judgement while the claims are investigated. But we must not tolerate any continuation of the old practices of cover up and complacency when allegations like these are raised.”
READ THE LENGTHY STATEMENT FROM UHMBT ABOUT MR DUFFY'S ALLEGATIONS HERE
ALLEGATIONS IN DETAIL
PETER Duffy made 27 complaints about incidents within the urology department between 2014 and 2016.
They included the case of a man in his 30s who visited A&E at Furness General Hospital in 2014.
The patient had taken a herbal form of Viagra and had a painful condition known as priapism for two days.
Medics advised the man to go home and attend the Royal Lancaster Infirmary the next day for treatment if the condition continued.
He was seen there by Mr Duffy who tried to help but found it was too late to prevent long term damage and the patient was left permanently impotent.
Two other incidents reported by Mr Duffy to trust bosses concerned both a male and female patient, both with only one kidney, who were left suffering from renal failure in September 2015. Mr Duffy said a recognised procedure could have improved the patients’ condition and prevented long term damage.
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