A meal and talk with Professor Jane Somerville are always refreshing. She has retired from medicine but as she says 'not from life.'  Retirement is not in her vocabulary. We enjoy dinner together when she comes as she loves Malta and has made strong friendships here that she does not want to neglect. 

She is honoured to have received the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Reppublika (Medal for Service to the Republic)given by the President on Republic Day. This will be presented in person on the 17^th of March in London, by the Malta High Commissioner, Professor Stephen Montfort as she was unable to attend the ceremony in Malta on the official day having agreed to participate in a fund-raising event, dressed as a man "accompanying a young lady wearing a very short skirt."

This is certainly not the first medal that she has received. "I have some gold medals from around the world and heart societies. This is the first national honour I have received so it's special to me, particularly as it comes from Malta," and we down a little more wine. She enjoys a glass of wine with her meals but does not touch dessert.

 Although she is no longer licensed to practice medicine officially (having over matured in decades), there is a flow of patients, relatives, friends, wanting medical help: "this is because standards of medical care and management have plunged in NHS and also the private sector."

 She has a new interest which is demanding and time consuming that is to help doctors who speak up for the safety of patients in Britain's NHS and are routinely persecuted by managers and departments of (in)human resources (HR) "This is a disgrace and injustice and is happening across the country. Not in all trusts but in many and part of the cover up culture active in NHS but also through other government departments: atomic energy, transport, education etc." (Until 2020 there were some 217 trusts in Britain.)

Prof. Somerville believes that the practice is similar throughout the trusts which make it clear that this is an accepted process at high level ministries and government.  This process results in disastrous consequences for the whistleblowing doctor who may be suspended, dismissed or forced to resign. There is also financial punishment including bankruptcy, broken families, serious ill health, crippling bills to pay lawyers or claims from trusts as punishment for continuing to appeal the original claim, and even suicide occasionally. It is clear that it is condoned from above if not actually encouraged. One of the worst aspects is that the original claim is ignored so the wrong continues with damage or death to patients. The trust only investigates the claimant, blackening his character, finding something wrong in his life with their powers to interrogate computers, using a firm to send dodgy police to watch etc, or send nurses  without the relevant experience for the problem, to investigate.    It does not stop there. There is gross inequality of arms - money. The trust has and spends huge amounts of taxpayers money NHS Resolution, a department, that resolved clinical negligence and other disputes in the NHS in England, to solicitors who are paid thousands for prosecutions appeals including barristers who receive very large fees. There are the very few who will give their expertise to the doctor without the finance to support him in court. The doctor ends up broken as a litigant in person (LIP)."  

There are four main solicitor firms used by the trusts involved - one them most frequently earning even millions, has the same chairman as the company who sold the NHS into management. Employment tribunals to which the desperate doctor is driven, most unwisely are won by trusts in 97% of the cases. Shocking to mention, the judiciary is often involved.

 Jane is keen to right this injustice.  She works with colleague Dr David E. Ward, a retired cardiologist from St George's and David Hencke the journalist, exposing the facts in Westminster Confidential.  Also Justice for Doctors (JFD) chaired by a consultant pathologist, a whistle blower like most of its members. He exposed serious fraud which was covered up and he was suspended despite the desperate need for consultant pathologists. Her involvement happened five years ago when she and David Ward attended a conference at The Royal Society of Medicine. She was horrified at the stories and shocked by the inadequate interest from the health ministry. "The use of the guardian system is cosmetic, the other medical regulatory bodies showing inadequate support." The final straw was finding a small young female consultant cardiologist (the ideal person for management bullying) sitting by her to  attempt to save her career  after she had complained about a management issue and gender/racism discrimination. "We failed  to save her," Prof. Somerville told me, ruefully.

"David and I had to stop this injustice and because of seniority knew how things worked and could speak out publicly and could not be threated or intimidated, which is routine. Our careers are done. For better or worse.  Nor are we seeking promotions, merit awards or honours."  Even if the department of health were concerned about her revelations (as she has been informed they are), "nothing short of mafia tactics could stop it. This is not fantasy.  They have been used occasionally. We met whistleblowers and listened to terrible tales. Met dismissed consultants, obstetricians, neurosurgeons, anaesthetists, psychiatrists, surgeons in other specialities who complained about unsafe practices and equipment and unnecessary deaths.  All covered up a complete culture across boards with the occasional good trust appearing handling complaints correctly as legislation dictates."  

Dr Ward and herself felt it was important to have another conference as nothing had in years been done to mitigate the situation. The media and press were not very interested.  "Speaking to political heavy weights and civil service mandarins is useless. Having been promised a conference on whistleblowing, which was to be my reward for doing a favour to the president of the Royal Society of Medicine, permission was suddenly withdrawn on grounds that NHS should not be criticised. Finally with a little trickery, calling it 'patient safety' instead of NHS cover up culture, and going a different route, the conference was organised at The Royal Society of Medicine.  The two aims: To bring members, now 150, of Justice for Doctors together, in the hope of getting them to work together to rid NHS of this evil and to inform press and other media.  It worked and was a huge success. There was good press coverage.  My family all helped and attended. Bless my great intelligent children.

 Wes Streeting, the minister-in-waiting and the current minister both spoke out against whistle blowing publicly stating managers would be punished. Hurrah!" But words are not enough and a year later nothing happened. "But at least it's out in public," Jane says with some relief.

Nobody regulates the managers. "Doctors have at least a General Medical Council but there is nothing they can do. The managers control the money.  They don't even have a code of behaviour and as far as I can see, some of them aren't even educated to be managers in health. They envy or despise doctors and it has all got out of hand."

She recalls that when David and herself grew up "we didn't have loads of managers stepping over each other appointing each other and misusing   service money.  We had three wise men in the hospital to whom such troubles as these would be reported and dealt with.  Also a wise secretary superintendent, sometimes medical, known as House Governor who was responsible for running the hospital. It would be impossible to complain and not have the complaint looked into, in those days."

Did she know how frequently these problems occur? "The Department of Health says they keep no statistics." She doubts the truth of this. "But certainly we cannot get anything from the freedom of information process. Rumour has it that when they don't want to reveal something it is pushed to another department which the enquirer cannot trace. If there are no statistics and complaints are not registered one cannot get information. Coupled with this the doctors are made to sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), are often forbidden to speak to anyone and certainly forbidden to go to press or police. They are fearful to come forward. It's a culture of fear in a culture of coverup." 

 Does this happen in Malta where the system is so similar to that of the UK. "I don't know," says Jane.  "I have tried to find out. One fact is clear. Junior staff at all levels fear to speak up in criticism of anything including obvious bad practices and unnecessary deaths, fearing they lose their jobs and careers."

Following the recent resignation of Dr Ian Baldacchino, a member of the Medical Council, "citing his frustration with the council's inability to carry out its investigative function,"  it appears that "scores of pending investigations into doctors and dentists accused of malpractice were quietly shelved until the impasse could be resolved," as reported in the newspapers.

Is it a culture of fear in a culture of cover up in Malta too? It must be much worse here where  'everyone knows everyone else.'

I wished Jane luck in what must be her last crusade. She is going to need it.