Throughout October’s Speak Up Month, Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark will be in conversation with people who have spoken up and suffered detriment as a result. In frank conversations, she will be exploring how we can break the barriers they faced to make a better and safer speaking up culture across healthcare in England.
In episode 12, Jayne speaks to Peter Duffy MBE, an established surgeon of 35 years who won his Trust’s “Doctor of the Year” award in 2016.
Mr Duffy spoke up to the CQC about numerous concerns of clinical negligence. He was subsequently forced to resign and took the University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Trust to an employment tribunal. He was found to be wrongly dismissed and awarded compensation but this did not stop, as he describes, an enforced exile on the Isle of Man, working at a hospital there, away from the family in Lancaster. Mr Duffy now campaigns for a safer NHS and has written two books about his experiences.
In episode 13, Jayne is in conversation with Dr Patricia Mills, a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust.
Dr Mills spoke up about the inappropriate and dangerous behaviour of a consultant anaesthetist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. But instead of her concerns being acted upon she was accused of trouble making and subjected to a disciplinary process. Dr Mills was exonerated in an independent review and the hospital has since apologised to her and the other staff involved, but she has described how the experience made her ill and she feared for her job.
In episdoe 14, Jayne discusses the barrier of fear anf futility with Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust, Bernadette Rochford MBE.
Bernie spoke up about commissioning at a Primary Care Trust as it was transitioning to become a Clinical Commissioning Group. Her speaking up experience featured in the Sir Robert Francis’ Freedom to Speak Up Review as she spoke up to approximately 500 people across about 80+ layers of management tiers and organisations. She was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honors list in 2021 for her services to the NHS.