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Whistleblower to sue health chiefs for £2m
Exclusive: Doctor's revelations 'led to ruined health and career'
Rob Waugh
AN NHS whistleblower is preparing to sue a Yorkshire health trust for around 2m after claiming that his treatment by managers and colleagues ruined his health and ended his career.
Mike Tobin's role in revealing the poor standard of care and management at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust triggered a crisis which ended with the trust becoming the first in the country to be placed in "special measures".
Dr Tobin, a former consultant gastroenterologist, has formally served notice on Mid Yorkshire and seven named ex-colleagues of his intention to seek damages for their alleged role in ending his lucrative career.
He claims he suffered such severe depression as a result of his treatment by the trust and former colleagues that he has been unable to work since December, 2003 and has been forced to take retirement on ill-health grounds.
Last night, Dr Tobin, 51, said: "This has been a very traumatic period for me and I very much regret the premature end of a career that I loved so much. The primary purpose of this civil action is to hold people to account for the harm they have done.
"The vast majority of healthcare professionals do a good job. However, as in all walks of life, bad practice can occur which may continue despite individuals raising concerns in the local workplace. If bad practice persists – and especially when this compromises patient safety – it is a doctor's duty to whistleblow. It is very sad that whistleblowers have to sacrifice so much and have to endure such suffering in seeking a safe environment for patients."
His lawyer, Nick Hanning, is hoping to break fresh legal ground by using the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act – originally largely intended to protect people from stalkers – to pursue part of the claim.
Earlier this year, he was behind the first successful use of the act to hold an employer to account for harassment in the workplace – which is otherwise only usually covered by statutes referring to harassment on sexual, racial or disability grounds. The Court of Appeal said the act could be used for a case involving an audit co-ordinator at Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust, although the trust is appealing to the House of Lords.
If the finding stands, it is expected to make it much easier for employees to seek compensation for bullying and harassment in the workplace.
In Dr Tobin's case, he will, whatever happens, also take action against Mid Yorkshire for allegedly failing in its duty of care to an employee. With average annual earnings of around 180,000 for both NHS and private work, his claim for lost future earnings up to a potential retirement at 65 will be in the region of 2m.
Dr Tobin's claim arises out of a disastrous period for the Mid Yorkshire trust, which serves more than 500,000 people, mostly at Pinderfields, Dewsbury and Pontefract hospitals.
The desperate problems surrounding poor standards of patient care and financial meltdown first blew up in the Autumn of 2003 when a series of revelations in the Yorkshire Post helped prompt an investigation by the Healthcare Commission.
The beginning of the crisis co-incided with the suspension of Dr Tobin in October, 2003. He was re-instated soon after, following concerns over a patient death on the ward at Pinderfields where he would otherwise have been working.
In deciding to place the trust in special measures, the Healthcare Commission reported concerns over patient safety, higher-than-average death rates in some procedures, inadequate equipment, consultants at loggerheads with each other, poor information on clinical performance and management failures.
Dr Tobin is claiming he was victimised by the trust and seven former colleagues who allegedly deliberately undermined him and ignored his concerns about standards of patient care.
The trust and Dr Tobin's seven former colleagues all have three months formally to admit or deny liability
Mid Yorkshire's chief executive John Parkes said: "For legal and staff confidentiality reasons it is not possible for the Trust to comment on any current legal actions."
If the claim is successful, the financial burden would not fall directly on Mid Yorkshire but instead would be paid by the NHS Litigation Authority which pays out for compensation claims.
rob.waugh@ypn.co.uk
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Friday 10 February 2012
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