Health Minister Anne Pryke at yesterday’s press conference with Health acting chief executive Richard Jouault (standing) and Verita’s Julian Woolfson, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, Ed Marsden and Derek Mechen Picture: TONY PIKE (00882486)A FEAR of speaking out, a culture of cover-ups and a lack of common purpose between doctors and civil servants have all been alleged in the damning Health report.
Further claims that too many patients are being referred to the Hospital because GPs make money from referrals, and that consultants have an ‘unhelpful rivalry’ over doing private work have also been made.
During their investigations into the death of former staff nurse Elizabeth Rourke, independent consultants Verita found that many of the people they interviewed made serious allegations about how the Hospital and Health Department were being run.
Verita felt that some of the claims were so serious that they compiled a secondary report highlighting some of the most serious allegations and recommended that further investigations be launched.
Article posted on 2nd February, 2010 - 2.59pm
‘A culture of cover-up and rivalry’