The letter containing the 'cause for concern sheet' arrived on October 31st 2008.
We were horrified by the inaccuracies in this composition and realised that we had no reason whatsoever to trust the Healthcare Commission. This organisation is supposed to investigate problems within the NHS and recommend steps to be taken for resolution and improvement.
Their website states:'
We check the quality and safety of healthcare provided by the NHS and independent organisations, promoting improvements for patients.'
They are clearly not supposed to cause further problems!
I telephoned the main number for the Healthcare Commission and asked who I needed to speak to regarding the 'cause for concern sheet' as, at this point, we were seriously considering taking legal action.
I was put through to a manager, Loraine Darcy, who seemed unable to answer my questions but she promised to call me back the same day. She did not call me back. (Although she now claims that she did try to call me back but must have miss-dialled!)
On November 4th 2008, Ian Howe telephoned me saying that Loraine Darcy had told him that I had called wanting to know what was going on in relation to the independent review. I explained to him that this had not been the reason for my call and outlined our concerns regarding the 'cause for concern sheet'. Ian said that he would get Loraine Darcy to call me straight back.
Instead, it was Ian who called me back. He explained that Loraine Darcy was about to go into a meeting and asked if I would be home the next day for her to call me then.
Late morning on November 5th 2008, she finally called me. Firstly she demanded to know whether or not we had begun any legal action. I informed her that we had not done so -yet!
Obviously, the decision to take legal action is ours and can be made at any point. The fact that we have not yet decided to go ahead with this, does not prevent us from doing so at any point during or after the review process.
I put some questions to her and insisted that we should have the answers in writing. She confirmed that she would do this.
To date, November 16th 2008, we have not received her letter.We are still waiting - but not too patiently!
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