Hospitals conceal evidence when patients are harmed, claims outgoing NHS ombudsman.
Rob Behrens said ministers, NHS bosses and board members were not doing enough to end the health service’s “culture of cover-ups”.
He accused the NHS of acting, on occasion, in “appalling” ways to prevent bereaved families from discovering the truth, and claimed that parts of the £160 billion-a-year service still prioritized “reputation management”.
During the investigation, Mr. Behrens discovered “the disappearance of crucial documents after the death of patients”.
Latest figures suggest there are around 11,000 preventable deaths a year in the NHS due to failings in patient safety.
Rob Behrens (pictured) said ministers, NHS bosses and board members were not doing enough to end the health service’s “culture of cover-ups”. He accused the NHS of sometimes acting in “appalling” ways to prevent bereaved families from discovering the truth, and claimed that parts of the £160 billion-a-year service still prioritized “management of reputation “.
During the investigation, Mr. Behrens discovered “the disappearance of crucial documents after the death of patients”. Latest figures suggest there are around 11,000 preventable deaths a year in the NHS due to failings in patient safety.
Mr Behrens, who will soon leave his post as mediator for England after seven years in the post, told the Guardian: “NHS leaders, including ministers, set the tone for the whole organisation.
“We keep hearing that patient safety is a priority, but too often actions suggest otherwise.
“We need urgent, meaningful, joint intervention to accelerate improvements in culture and leadership, not just in trusts or primary care, but also across NHS England and government.”
“Culture is determined not only by the core of an organization, but also by its leaders. »
While the NHS was made up of “brilliant people” working under intense pressures, Mr Behrens said his investigations into patient complaints had often revealed cover-ups.
These include “the alteration of care plans and the disappearance of crucial documents after patients’ deaths, as well as a categorical denial of documentary evidence,” he said.
Mr Behrens also pointed to preventable deaths as being too common, particularly in maternity care, mental health and the treatment of sepsis – the body’s life-threatening response to infection.
He warned that the NHS’s legal “duty of candour” did not require hospitals to be open about failures and urged ministers to reform the way the NHS deals with complaints and regulatory checks and balances.
It just comes months after scathing report The ombudsman also found last year that the NHS was plagued by a culture of “defensiveness” when patients are harmed, with hospitals “systematically” failing to accept their mistakes.
However, he acknowledged today that Martha’s Rule – which is due to be introduced in England next month – was a big step forward.
Under this rule, patients and their relatives have the right to a second medical opinion and a review of treatment.
This follows a campaign by the parents of Martha Mills, 13, who died in hospital in August 2021 after developing sepsis.
But Mr Behrens also told the Guardian he was alarmed by a recurring pattern of hospitals intimidating whistleblowers rather than taking their concerns seriously.
He singled out the University Hospitals Birmingham Trust for referring 26 of its doctors over a 10-year period for alleged misconduct to the General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, in an alleged attempt to punish them for coming forward. concerns.
None committed any wrongdoing.
Following his remarks, Paul Whiteing, chief executive of patient safety charity Action Against Medical Accidents, said the Countess of Chester NHS Trust had failed to respond to doctors’ concerns about the baby killer serial Lucy Letby – including forcing them to apologize to her for her doubts. its integrity — was an example of Mr. Behrens’ concerns.
Last year, a third of NHS staff, during the course of their work, encountered errors, near misses or incidents that could have harmed staff or patients, according to the latest annual survey of NHS staff, he added.
“Martha’s Rule,” which formalizes access to an intensive care team for a second opinion, will be available 24/7 and announced in all hospitals. The move follows the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills in 2021. She developed sepsis while in the care of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London.
Martha’s parents, Merope Mills (pictured), an editor at the Guardian, and her husband Paul Laity, repeatedly expressed concerns about Martha’s health, but these were brushed aside.
Responding to Mr Behrens, an NHS spokesperson said it was “absolutely vital that everyone who works in the NHS feels they can speak out and have their concerns taken into account”.
“The NHS has updated its free speech guidelines (and) introduced additional background checks on board members to prevent directors involved in serious mismanagement from joining another NHS organization .”
They added: “As the Ombudsman knows, major efforts have been made to prioritize patient safety in England and progress has been made in creating a more positive safety culture among staff, which has led to higher levels of reporting of patient safety incidents than ever before and a large focus on improvement, including through the new Safety Incident Response Framework patients.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The safety of all patients is of vital importance, and we have made significant improvements to strengthen patient protection, including publishing the first strategy NHS patient safety.
“We are committed to making health services faster, simpler and fairer. We are investing record levels in the NHS, and training and retaining staff through the Long Term Workforce Plan to properly staff our NHS for decades to come.