"NHS caused more deaths than Harold Shipman"

As recognition of the brilliance of Martin Shipton (that's SHIPTON not Shipman ) I hereby copy most of his article.

The scandal of heart patients dying whilst waiting for operations at Wales' hospital is evidence that the NHS. has failed and that it should be reorganised on a model based on other countries state health services, a medical professor has claimed.

Professor Ninian Peckitt a surgeon who trained at UHW in Cardiff,  now based at Massey University in New Zealand contacted Ann Clwyd MP to tell her that the NHS has caused more avoidable deaths than the mass murderer Dr Harold Shipman.

Last month, a report by the Royal College of Surgeons stated that more than 152 heart patients had died in the last five years whilst waiting for surgery at Morriston and UHW. ( Meanwhile Chief Executive, Adam Cairns apologised and acknowledged that things must improve. Of course he fails to explain how he and predecessors  didn't appear to notice any of these oversights, as part of their primary task !)

But, in a letter sent to Ms Clwyd Professor Peckitt states, "Adam Cairns' comment that the problems need to be tackled with a 'much more resilient plan' in future is unacceptable, as the procedures should not have  been permitted to occur in the first place.

"This kind of statement is common-place and diverts attention from dysfunctional systems and incompetence." [ cries of 'stick it to 'em, Prof !]  "The NHS is listening to its own delusional voices and this is the real cause of the disease".

The Professor goes on to assert that "the NHS has been set up to fail - and it has miserably". He states: "The NHS Trust system has never worked ( multiple reorganisations at huge public cost ), doesn't work ( multiple scandals ) and will never work ( corruption, intransigence and projections of financial meltdown ). State healthcare in other countries is vastly superior to our NHS, but successive governments consistently refuse to admit failure. The service continues to disintegrate and more scandals will be exposed as time goes on as a function of system failure."

"There is a palpable lack of responsibility and accountability in the NHS especially at executive level. Institutional intimidation and victimisation of the workforce is widespread and disciplinary measures are used to silence critics. The employers have demonstrated that they are not fit for purpose [ Tee Hee ] in appraisal-based revalidation and this must be abandoned as it is a means to censor staff who are critical of the system."

"The institution as it exists has caused more avoidable deaths than the Shipman murders and yet government still fails consistently to address these issues.  Ms Clwyd states the obvious, brilliantly, "Prof. Peckitt's letter is very strong and he is not afraid to be highly critical of the way the NHS is run"    R. W. / M. S.