I wonder why?
I am referring to the investigation Beds and Luton Mental Health Partnership carried out in regards to the care they provided to Ikechukwu Tennyson Obih....The man who killed PC Jon Henry in 2007.
The investigation has been made public, following a Freedom of Information Act request by 'BBC Three Counties Radio'.
The following comes from the BBC Website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8043545.stm
It was revealed the trust had poor communication, management and training.
Secure hospital
Obih, of Winsdon Road, Luton, denied murdering Pc Henry but admitted killing him on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was found guilty of murder at Luton Crown Court in March.
He was also found guilty of attempting to murder a window cleaner.
Obih, who had been detained in the secure mental hospital in Rampton, Nottinghamshire, since his arrest was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attack, his defence team said.
The court was told he was diagnosed with the condition in 2005 after suffering problems from abusing alcohol and cannabis.
Three Counties Radio has appealed against the decision by the trust to withhold key information into the case.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health Partnership Trust said it had a serious duty to obtain a balance between public openness and patient confidentiality.
It added in a statement: "The Trust extends its deepest sympathies to people affected by the tragic events in Luton Town Centre two years ago.
"The Trust is now under new interim management and many major improvements are being made to services across the organisation.
"The Trust is co-operating fully with the East of England Strategic Health Authority's independent investigation of the events which took place in 2007."
I am not sure what I make of the comments made by the Beds and Luton MH Partnership Trust in regards to the balance between patient confidentiality and public interest. Is more a case of 'witholding what is in the publc interest'. I think there is a case for 'corporate manslaughter' (or whatever the NHS equivalent is) and the previous senior management should be answerable....rather than having been moved, discreetly, out of the line of fire.
Just where is the accountability in all this? At least 'Three Counties Radio' weren't scared to ask questions. More of that kind of journalism wouldn't go amiss.
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ReplyDeleteThis is overdue and it sets a precedent I think - a real precedent because there are other long drawn out enquiries which have been "confidentialised" out of public sight by both SHA's and Trusts ..
The one in Birmingham is the very similar case of Glaister Butler who knifed and killed Det Constable Swindells.. A report was issued but has disappeared up the Trust's backside so far ..The NHS top staff hate accountability.
A public interest argument has now been upheld and this must surely form the basis of some serious worry for other Trusts who are now going to get what they deserved - public examination ..
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On second reading its not clear as to the depth of the information and looks likely the Beds and Luton Trust has so far trickled out what it has wanted to control .
ReplyDeleteIts easy to non-confidentialise reports and make sure names and address are not in there, and the events are so serious that patient confidentiality has to give way where it can be shown that is in the public interest.
These fucking pratts at the Trust were supposed to be keeping this man safe and the public safe from him . Thats the core of the real story and why they failed - its overiding..
I agree corporate manslaughter via neglect is a possibility .
Hallo there PG
ReplyDeleteLong time no correspondence. Maybe too long???
Water under the bridge and all that.
Having thought about this, because if you (me that is) are going to write something of such importance is important to think seriously about it, I am not sure corporate manslaughter would be legally what is acceptable (to the legal system) but I am sure a charge that befits the continual systematic failures and the severity of the outcomes warrants more than an investigation that is then hidden..until someone (or in this case 'Three Counties Radio) has the guts to dig it up.
From what you have written it is not a one of set of incidents either. So perhaps a legal precedent needs to be set.