Originally posted @ 3:50 pm, Sat 4th Oct 2008
David Cameron's speech was to set out as a marker for "judgement and responsibility". It was policy light. And it turned on the big hitters of the political world - like the President of the Spelling Society.
I was slightly surprised by the passage on the NHS (see below). It featured a man's complaint about the circumstances of the recent death of his wife. The speech portrayed Alan Johnson as bureaucratic and unfeeling. And reached a crescendo with - "Four ways to make a complaint but not one way for my constituent’s wife to die with dignity. We need to change all that."
Well, of course, the Daily Mirror - who else - has looked into it. Today's article shows that the speech did not fully or fairly represent the cause of death or Alan Johnson's reply.
Paul Routledge in Friday's Mirror was even more hard-hitting - “How dare David Cameron play politics with Elizabeth Woods' MRSA tragedy”. David Cameron, the man with a Conservative clan, boasts about his judgment and character. Some judgment. Some character. He deliberately gave the impression that one of his constituents died of infectious bug MRSA, when she did not.
Individual cases can legitimately give concerns a shape and form that shows that a remedy is needed. But individual cases ought to be backed up by a wider analysis that demonstrates judgement. And it wouldn't be too late for David Cameron to expand on what he meant and what he intends to do as a result.
Otherwise, the manner in which he has raised Mr Woods' concerns seems undignified.
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From Cameron's speech -
"In August, I got a letter from one of my constituents, John Woods. His wife was taken to hospital. She caught MRSA and she died. Some of the incidents described are so dreadful, and so degrading, that I can’t read you most of the letter. He says the treatment his wife received “was like something out of a 17th century asylum not a 21st century £90 billion health service.” And then, as his wife’s life was coming to end, he remembers her “sitting on the edge of her bed in distress and saying ‘I never thought it would be like this’.” I sent the letter to Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary. This was his reply. “A complaints procedure has been established for the NHS to resolve concerns… “Each hospital and Primary Care Trust has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service to support people who wish to make a complaint… “There is also an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service… “If, when Mr Woods has received a response, he remains dissatisfied, it is open to him to approach the Healthcare Commission and seek an independent review of his complaint and local organisation’s response… “Once the Health Care Commission has investigated the case he can approach the Health Service Ombudsman if he remains dissatisfied….” A Healthcare Commission. A Health Service Ombudsman. A Patient Advice and Liaison Service. An Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. Four ways to make a complaint but not one way for my constituent’s wife to die with dignity. We need to change all that.
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