Jenny Willott

Liberal Democrats | Cardiff Central

Dr. Mattu Debate

INTRODUCTION:

I would like to begin by thanking the Speaker for agreeing to this debate.

This debate is by no means meant to constitute an attack on the staff at Walsgrave Hospital.

The staffs at Walsgrave Hospital have done a wonderful job, especially since the change in leadership at Walsgrave

This debate is the third of its kind on the issue of Dr. Mattu’s suspension.

And this is the third particular case of an unresolved suspension at Walsgrave Hospital.

BACKGROUND:

The current cost of these three suspensions amounts to £1.2 million to date.

Money that could have been used for the delivery of better NHS services.

Therefore, I believe it is vital that we come to some kind of resolution on the matter.

Especially due to the growing economic cost for the public, causing much community protest.

Not to mention the loss of a competent doctor to Walgrave Hospital.

Dr. Mattu’s suspension has lasted over 2 ½ years.

Now we find that the disciplinary panel chosen to deal with his case will not be meeting until January 2005, which is a further 6 month delay.

Surely the time this procedure is taking can not be deemed as adequate.

I believe in such cases it is neither beneficial to the doctor in question or the Hospital that action is delayed for over 2 ½ years.

I would like to also mention the lasting affect this is having on his family and the growing cost to the NHS.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that has no time limit for the resolution of cases such as Dr. Mattu.

I would like to ask the Minister what has happened to the implementation of the National Audit Office Report recommendations.

There should be an enquiry into how these suspensions have been handled by the Trust.

I want to underline that we are not prejudicing the outcome of the case and only wish to resolve the issue once and for all.

We are asking for justice for Dr. Mattu.

One must question the competence and efficiency of a disciplinary process that has continued over nearly 3 years, and has yet to come to a conclusion.

We believe that Dr. Mattu was suspended for reasons of whistle blowing.

If there are other documented reasons for his suspension, the Trust should make us aware of them.

As this is in the public interest and will restore confidence in the competency of the Trust’s decision making.

The cost in particular to Dr. Mattu’s case as we understand is over £500,000.

CONCLUSION:

There should be an independent inquiry into the way this case has been handled.

The case should be dealt with by an independently selected panel to ensure its validity.

To ensure a timely resolution with the least cost to the public.

Because Dr. Mattu, as far as we are aware was not suspended for medical reasons.

Finally I believe Dr. Mattu’s human rights are being denied because of the length of time his case has taken and the inappropriate way the Trust has handled things.

And the Trust should conclude any other allegations against Dr. Mattu and say that they are the reasons for the suspension.

The Minister should directly intervene and launch an inquiry.

There must be a more affective way of dealing with such suspensions in the future.