‘Groundhog Day’ NHS scandals must end, says Helen after Thirlwall Inquiry
North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan, has said she is “beyond angry” that politicians were once again discussing recommendations arising from a major NHS scandal.
Helen is the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson and spoke in the Commons, following the publication of Lady Justice Thirlwall's report into failings at the Countess of Chester Hospital, the hospital where nurse and convicted killer Lucy Letby worked.
The inquiry reported that some deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital could have been prevented. The MP said the inquiry exposed a “distressingly familiar” pattern of mistakes, cover-ups and warnings that were ignored - a situation she likened to ‘Groundhog Day’.
Helen warned that lessons from previous NHS scandals continued to go unheeded, despite repeated inquiries identifying many of the same failings.
Speaking during a House of Commons Statement on the Thirlwall Inquiry, Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “I’m beyond angry that once again we are discussing the recommendations for action from an NHS scandal. It’s like Groundhog Day. We are stuck in an endless cycle of expressing horror and doing nothing.”
Helen was speaking in response to the statement, made by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, and highlighted Liberal Democrat amendments to the Health Bill, currently passing through Parliament, which would require NHS boards to call in investigators when they receive reports of malpractice and strengthen powers for coroners and medical examiners to raise concerns.
Helen has previously campaigned for stronger patient safety measures following failures at several NHS Trusts including the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, where families had to fight for years to secure accountability through the Ockenden Review.
Helen added: “The families who've suffered such unimaginable loss deserve better than reports and recommendations gathering dust on a shelf. We need action to ensure these failures are never repeated.
“The importance of stronger whistleblowing mechanisms could not be clearer. There should be a duty of candour for management as well as medical staff.”
Helen called on the Government to accept measures designed to strengthen whistleblowing protections, improve independent scrutiny of NHS trusts and put patient safety at the heart of reforms.
The Liberal Democrats have previously warned of a ‘bonfire of patient safety’, reacting to proposals by the Government to remove independent scrutiny by abolishing both Healthwatch and The Health Services Safety Investigations Body.