Still struggling to absorb the latest leaked documents: two letters from Carol Bode, previous Sloven board chair, to Monitor (now NHS Improvement) flagging concerns in 2011 and to Alistair Burt in July 2016.

The 2011 letter is 9 pages long with appendices. My first response, other than horror, was surprise to read an authoritative, sensible and thoughtful letter. Our communications from Katrina Percy and other Sloven execs have been grim, silly, hot air, lying bullying bullshite. Exemplified by the letter Katrina Percy sent me in August 2014 but also Simon Waugh categorically denying Sloven were monitoring my blog.

The back story is Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) merged with Hampshire Community Healthcare (HCHC) [Katrina Percy’s stamping ground] creating Sloven in 2011. Senior HPFT bods left and within a short space of time HCHC directors dominated the board. A cheeky little Percy coup d’état with only Helen McCormack remaining from HPFT by 2013. Extraordinary and deeply alarming. Particularly, as Bode raised issues around the expertise of the board two years earlier:

Not only foundation trust expertise but also mental health and learning disability expertise. Before the Ridgeway takeover… [Howl]

Though carefully worded, Bode also raised issues around Percy’s leadership approach:

Sadly, there were no fresh eyes. Simon Waugh, the replacement board chair was replaced by Mike Petter, an old mate of Katrina Percy’s from her pre-Sloven days. A now familiar path of rewarding mates with jobs/contracts.

In her letter to Alistair Burt, after Smart’s board judgement on June 30 this year, Bode states:

If only Monitor had listened and acted… These pages could still be filled with hilarious anecdotes.

You fucking bastards.

PostScript: Thank you for trying, Carol. And thank you to the peep/s who send us these documents. There remains nothing like transparency and candour within official channels.