I had a phone interview earlier with an investigator investigating Sloven nursing staff on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). This has taken so long to happen because Sloven spent an age and a day doing their internal disciplinary investigations [of course] and consistently refusing to say who they were investigating [of course]. We referred a consultant to the General Medical Council (GMC) back in May 2014 after being told by ‘a source’ she’d done a bunk. The nurses weren’t so clear cut.
So today I found out the names of the six referred nurses. Six. And no medics. The Sloven sloven industry as always delivering pure shite. Take over (land lucrative) provision from afar, leave it to sink into a hellhole of discontent, malaise and fear and, when the inevitable shitola happens, make sure no one within a fifty mile radius of the mothership catches any of the fall out. Particularly anyone approaching board or CEO level.
In her opening spiel, the investigator offered me the services of a liaison officer to ‘provide support during this process’. Bit late in the day for that really. It reminded me of the Health and Safety Executive leaving us a booklet about what to do after the unexpected death of a family member. About 18 months after LB died. Learning point 1,345,987 If you come into contact with families some while down the grief and bereavement road to nowhere, perhaps think about the standard bells you typically offer and frame them appropriately…
Next stop was the blog.
‘You, er, write a blog. Could you not write about this, it may disrupt the process…’
Mmm. There wouldn’t be a process if I didn’t write a blog. And despite the ludicrous shrieks of the Dr Crapshite brigade, I’ve not been a name shamer on these pages. (Well not below leadership level… the likes of KP, Petter, Jacko and Hudspeth who I reckon get paid to swallow the pill of possible publicity). I agreed to not mention the content of the interview.
Then we were off.
It was so blinking distressing to go over everything again. Even more distressing, if that’s possible, after experiencing LB’s inquest and hearing the (still not quite) full story of what happened. Layers and layers and layers of wrong that simply scream out. While crap all happens.
‘Can’t you use the context I provided to the GMC?’ I asked after the first question.
‘No, we need to have what happened in your words.’
‘They were my words‘, my brain screamed… like they were for the police. For the coroner… for Verita. Learning point 1,345,988 There is no justification for repeated telling when the telling has already been done in an official capacity unless people want to. Otherwise, agreement with the person/family that they are happy for a cut and paste version to be used from another official telling should do. There is always the option to add or delete bits at the next stage.. [Howl].
Such disconnect among the various arms of the (non) accountability dance. A fresh beating with a blunt instrument on each iteration (I now suspect with even more nails as the futility of the telling becomes more and more apparent). Perhaps 1,345,989 should be a brief note, early on, stating:
Now you’ve experienced the worst thing you could ever (not dare to) imagine, we’re going to spent the next few years or more (well as long as it takes) torturing you in a combination of bureaucratic, thoughtless, deliberate, ignorant and incompetent ways…
Yours,
The State
‘Do you want a break?’ asked the investigator several times during the interview.
My brain seemed to be hosting a particularly absurd but unavoidable horror show that made it difficult to speak. Sitting at work, I drilled the phone into my ear and sort of strangely gargled, cried, caterwauled and clawed my way through the following hour. I didn’t want a break. I just wanted it over.
[Final reflection: I had the odd moment while writing this post that I haven’t had before. Would I somehow jeopardise the NMC investigation. Not by disrupting the process but by simply pissing them off? I don’t know. But we’ll never know anything if things remain secret.]
mydaftlife 
Good for you – I have so many ‘professionals’ to report to Regulators that I do not have time to do so – much less keep up with my own blog. Sloven’s Complaints Manager is/was a Registered Nurse and played a material part in my case in concealing evidence of misconduct from the GMC.
Also you should make the NMC aware that a Sloven Non-exec Director (‘Honest John’ Spires) is a Chairman of the NMC Disciplinary Tribunal – a conflict he conveniently omits from his declaration of interests on Sloven’s web site – and the NMC already has an interest in him through intelligence from me. Another government agency, of which he is a NED, has been accused of suppressing a critical report and allegedly has been referred to the National Audit Office. I received an unsigned letter from Honest John at the Bored Meeting, returned it and asked him to address me courteously. A retired Rear Admiral – so much for the Military Code of Honour.
The net is closing!
Sara – apologies again – still no time to let you have prima facie proof of a criminal offence by Sloven’s in-house legal team. You are welcome to refer the NMC to me for corroboratory evidence of any of this.
Sara, I cannot believe the awfulness of what you go through. Thank you for sharing it, thank you for doing it, and keep on blogging, please,
Jan
I am appalled that you had to go through this pain again, but even more appalled that they felt it a good plan to carry out this interview over the phone! No chance of any human contact, empathy, or a realisation of exactly how much pain is being inflicted upon the interviewee if you keep them out of sight on the end of a phone line.
To be fair, Mandy, she offered to come in person but I just wanted it done with minimum fuss. 😦
Sara – you’re lucky, my Sloven Consultant did a bunk to Belize! If I recall correctly, yours has only gone to Ireland. I have just spoken to my GMC contact: we think yours is still on the GMC register – even if not the GMC can refer her to the Irish GMC-equivalent. An all-expenses paid trip to Dublin might even give you a chance of a break from all this rubbish in the UK.
If you let me have ‘your’ absconder’s name, I can have it checked. Please email me rather than answering through the blog – I might miss it – I have so much Sloven rubbish to deal with in my own case this week having been threatened at the Bored Meeting on Tuesday because I was exposing so much (should clarify that – exposing misconduct by Sloven, not exposing myself!!!!).
In my wildest dreams, when I start to get upset about my failure to get things right for my son, I start to fantasize about turning the tables.
Your tormentors are now on the receiving end of the endless round of meetings and interviews. It feels so empowering to be the one turning the screws. How are they coping with losing a loved one or caring for a very vulnerable person while trying to manage and keep sane. I imagine what sort of answers they would be giving. Would they crumble or would they fight? I’d love to know.
Broad agreement across all accountable bodies investigations is a certainty, you are never dealing with a separate arm.
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