Sunday 21 February 2010

The “Answers”



Before I get to the “answers” I have received from the Health Minister Deputy Ann Pryke, I will briefly point out the “possible” power of Blogsites and the “possible” unfortunate need for them.

I e-mailed Deputy Pryke on Tuesday the 2nd of February 2010 asking,three questions. Although she sent me a “read receipt” she never replied. I e-mailed her again four days later, once more attempting to get answers to my questions, again I got a “read receipt” but no reply. I e-mailed her for a third time on the 17th of February at 17.26pm some 15 days after the first e-mail.

After leaving it approximately twenty four hours without receiving a read receipt I published the e-mails on this Blog, and do you know what? The very next day I received a reply! It could very well be that this is a coincidence, but I fear not. I believe some, or most, of our elected “representatives” need to be “pressured” into corresponding with their electorate.

I know Blogsites have got their “haters” to those people I would say they are - unfortunately - a necessary evil.

So back to the e-mail(s)

From the very start I was seeking answers to three questions. They were (still are)

1. Are the hospital management team the Verita Report was so critical of still in place?

2. Will she (the Health Minister) be seeking to initiate a criminal investigation into acts or omissions by anybody involved in the tragic avoidable death of a patient?

3. Will she be initiating any type of her own disciplinary enquiry, holding any Civil Servant(s) to account?

Three simple, very pertinent, questions one would believe deserve an immediate response and indeed “ANSWERING”.

Unless I am missing something, after fifteen days, a Blog entry and three e-mails, I can’t see that I’ve got the three “answers” to my three questions!

Perhaps it is the case that I have got the answers but just can’t see it/them. Re-produced below is my original e-mail to the Deputy and her long awaited reply.

Original e-mail.

Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 6:32 PM
Subject: Vote of no confidence.
Deputy Pryke.
Could you please confirm for me, as I could be mistaken, but am I correct in believing, that the management team, who were in place at the time of the avoidable tragic death of Mrs. Rourke, the very same people who were responsible for WRONGLY suspending Dr. Day, the very same people who were strongly criticised by the Verita Report, for poor management skills, were responsible for a culture of fear should an employee attempt to flag up managerial failures or bad practice and many, many more criticisms are still employed at the hospital?
Would you also be so kind as to confirm to me that you have no intentions of either seeking to have a criminal investigation in respect of this mamagement team, or indeed any kind of a disciplinary enquiry put in place?
Kind Regards.


The Deputy’s reply/”answers”?

Dear Mr. ********
Thank you for your emails and apologize for not replying before, as I am hope you will appreciate life has been very busy.
The purpose of the Verita report was to examine the organizational systems and processes in place at the time of the tragic accident. The Verita investigation had no disciplinary remit, the details of the report are being carefully considered, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the position of individual employees. I am not aware of any current criminal investigations
There are 29 recommendations, all of which will be looked at, and will need to be actioned.It is my aim to improve the systems and procedures in place at the Hospital in light of this report. I have asked Verita to return in 6 months time to formally report on progress in implementing the recommendations.
Regards,
Anne Pryke

12 comments:

  1. Yet again I'm totally unsurprised that the public are being brushed off by a Minister.

    Why do the Council of Ministers continually protect corrupt and/or incompetent civil servants?

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  2. Well VFC - I am so pleased you have published this just before I leave this God-forsaken rock for a few days, as it was exactly what I was expecting.

    Truly disappointing, and Deputy Pryke has only reiterated what she has already said previously, and skirted around the questions that you asked.

    Typical politician's behaviour, but from a minister relatively new 'in post' I would have expected more.

    Why oh why do we have to tolerate this?

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  3. Further to my last post- if the Verita Report had no disciplinary remit it seems rather odd that Mr Day
    Consultant was re-instated the following day this report was released.

    I always feel it is a great shame that Gil Blackwood was not elected to the States, he would of been the ideal person to be the minister for Health. The States felt that a nurse has the qualification to oversea Health on your Island, it is like saying a class room helper with an NVQ is able to be Minister for Education. I realise that it is not the qualification of a Minister but their ability to take charge of the departments they are elected to administer. I also realise Stuart who tried to sort out the mess of grossly deficient civil servants did so at his peril. It is such a shame that this Health Minister is going down the sad track to comply with the wishes of a spent Government.

    Meanwhile hope you enjoy your break Jill.

    I will sign off kissy kissy - all IMHO.

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  4. They fought tooth and nail to not let there be any accountablity to the outcome of the Verita report and they will try to do the same for Deputy Hills proposition.

    But it now coming to the time when the blinkered public are becoming wise to what the Ministers and majority of States Members are playing at and it is coming to the point when the public will say :

    Enough is enough!!

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  5. Anne Pryke said: "Thank you for your emails and apologize for not replying before, as I am hope you will appreciate life has been very busy."

    How can you expect someone who can't even formulate the first sentence of her email correctly to answer 3 simple questions?

    Yes, I'm damn angry at the response you got VFC. This is an island run by a load of dimwits and we're supposed to just sit back and accept it. Well not any more, we've had enough of the incompetence of those who govern this island, our numbers are increasing and we're fighting back!

    As for you Ms Pryke, to establish any credibility in my book and in a lot of other people's books, you're going to have to realise that you're trusting and taking the advice from the wrong people! Take your blinkers off, use your head and started making some positive changes within your department. Those changes can only come about by getting rid of those civil servant gangsters at the head of your department whom you so stupidly rely on!

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  6. Ms Pryke, just go please lady !!!

    We have all had enough already.

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  7. Dear VFC

    I don't think Anne Pryke is a bad person, but she is being successfully duped by the senior management team at health.

    Tomorrow the new Health CEO will be chosen and one of the applicants is Richard (wake up and smell the coffee) Jouault.

    Anne if you have seen the report about John Day's suspension, if you know what part RJ and the others played in the cover up, please, please do what you can to stop him becoming CEO.

    RJ lies, he said that he welcomed John Day back to health after the Verita report exonerated him, but when I tried to email John on Friday, I found that he does not have a States email address, I also believe he is being prevented contact with patients and staff. This during Richard (welcome back John) Jouault's stewardship of health.

    There have been no lessons learned, it is the same old same old at Health and Anne if you think any different your are deluded.

    Please do not be taken in. Tomorrow is an important day, make the right decision.

    Otherwise like Syvret, Shenton and Perchard you will become history.

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  8. A comment has been submitted that talks of manslaughter and child abuse(r).

    Sorry it is just a little close to the mark as it is presently worded.

    VFC.

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  9. No one in her position is going to do the right thing. To take a strong moral stance requires too much heroism. That is Jersey's legacy and Jersey's tragedy.

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  10. Yet again more evidence that voting should be Island wide.
    I cannot question or vote for or against people like this who are empowered by a Parish vote only.
    Very wrong!!!

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  11. Below are the details, released on their appointment, of the two investigators into John Day's suspension. Their report was due in October/November 2009. Where is it?

    Chris Hannah - Cheshire

    A former Strategic Health Authority Chief Executive, Chris has a national profile and reputation for her expertise on workforce issues, board and team development as well as in coaching senior managers. She has chaired independent inquiries and investigations into critical incidents in health organisations, highlighting organisational learning points and improvements in governance. She has worked with a number of trust senior management teams, enabling them to produce clear organisational development plans. Chris has a detailed understanding of the importance and impact of strategic relationships including their political context and uses this when acting as an 'intelligent sounding board' for senior managers who are able to discuss the thorny issues with an expert in a confidential environment.


    Julia Hollywood - Essex

    Julia has over 20 years experience in the employee relations field, latterly specialising in dispute resolution among senior management and senior clinicians. She joined Barts and the London NHS Trust in 2002 as Deputy Director of HR, after spending 5 years as a BMA full-time officer. Julia was invited to join the national Consultant Contract Implementation Team as HR Lead in 2003. She became a freelance HR Consultant in 2005 and has undertaken assignments for clients within the health care sector and associated fields.

    Julia has extensive experience of handling complex disciplinary and grievance cases, including running cases in the employment tribunals. She has excellent communication and report writing skills. She has a problem-solving approach and is sensitive to power relations within organisations. She understands the value to clients of providing clear and practical advice.

    Julia now works as a NHS Flexible Resourcing Associate undertaking assignments in conflict resolution, investigations under ‘Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Modern NHS’, and consultant contract job planning.

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  12. Jersey Tax Payers let down AGAIN!

    No remit.

    No one appears to be accountable!

    We must remember this and put it on the list so we can assess who to vote for at the next elections.

    According to this fiasco there will be a very low voting turn out because we just can't find any heroes or heroins to do the 'right' thing by us.

    ACCOUNTABILITY has gone out of the window.

    We can't just sit by and watch this happen, can we?

    Truth, truth and more truth and then subsequent, relevant actions puleeese!

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