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nevos

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Everything posted by nevos

  1. LOL the French are special for sure. Do we still need to carry a breath test kit in France anyone? Thanks.
  2. IMO the current test is far too easy for learners, we watched a young girl trying to park in a bay at a restaurant, she had 11 attempts to get in and 9 to get out again..she was in a new Astra with a P plate and 3 of her mates..heard saying " I hate parking it's so hard". The ADI testing is also being revised, in fact all of this is BS just the DSA pretending to review stuff.
  3. Hi honeybee13 and ericsbrother, Thanks for comments! I had said to my wife that, I didn't hold out much hope of winning the case from an early stage, the Trust held all the cards..any witness we could have called or had ordered to appear had already been threatened with disciplinary action for even speaking to wife. In fact the judge said at one point..you could have made an application for a witness order..well that's all well and good however, you can not cross examine a witness brought to the hearing by order.. The good news is that wife has recovered and started a new job recently..she had suffered a total loss of confidence. We still worry about the wrongdoing and cover up. Thanks again..
  4. Hi Kirjava, and thanks for your post. We lost the case though, it didn't come as a surprise at all. The other side produced a host of spurious documents, a total of 8 witness's who's accounts of events were far from factual. From the start their solicitors gave us a huge run around with the bundle, any document that helped us was virtually illegible, requests for clear copies resulted in some documents being reformatted even turned up on different letter heads. We ended up having 3 case management hearings, at the last one 4 weeks before the full hearing their sols gave us a whole new bundle this was bundle number 3. Judge X was down to hear the case however Judge Y heard the case, at one case management and on the way through security we overheard the solicitor asking for Judge Y by name. The Judge made a point throughout of stopping us mentioning anything about the wrongdoing, the stock answer each time was The respondents accept the disclosures. Yes sure, their defence was that the manager had filed the disclosures away and not told anyone..pure tosh..as a consequence the claimant could not have been treated detrimentally as no one knew about the disclosures.. Check out this link 21 ways to skin a whistleblower Anyway it went on for 4 days with a full house of managers and staff all sat there either nodding or shaking their heads as the hearing went on, the judge had to tell them in the end, it was difficult for the other half already on medication and all meant to intimidate her. In the judgement apart from the manager who was disciplined for not acting on the disclosures the rest was way off the mark however, we did not have the fight left to appeal. Our case was well prepared with supporting documents and relevant case law, every word of it was ignored. It does not end there because, as we understand matters, a report has been sent to the Coroners office I can't say more on that, only that during the Trust's internal investigation some staff had two Unison representatives and looking at the questions exercised their right not to self incriminate. On the other hand Unison refused to assist wife with her case, even suggested she had not been a member long enough..BS. One very salient message came out of all this journey is that, NHS Foundation Trusts are actually not properly regulated. Firstly, regarding the CQC the Trusts have the power of self investigation, the CQC in our case i.e. the whistle-blowing accepted the Trusts versions without question even the the serious nature of the neglect. Secondly, NHS Foundation Trusts have another regulator Monitor, this regulator has only interest in the question " Is the NHS Trust in question well lead" that's it. If the Monitor decides to remove Directors, the Trust in question can even select the replacement directors. I'm sure I read some article saying that the care Minister has little power over NHS Foundation Trusts..might be wrong I'll look for it. Naturally, this whole issue is complex and I'm sorry that I can't lay out everything here but, hope you get the flavour of things! Thanks.
  5. Hi JeneiMac, Thanks for that..the case has now been heard and we are waiting for the judgement.. Thanks..
  6. I have a question regarding Union matters: If a person makes a protected disclosure to an in house NHS Turst union rep regarding safe guarding of vulnerable adults in written format, what is the Union rep's responsibility and what should they do with the disclosure? Thanks..
  7. obiter dictum, On this point : "PS: A union is not a recognised body to make a protected disclosure to under Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998" That is incorrect, under Section 43 of the act if the Employer has Trade Union Recognition for the purpose of Collective Barganing., Are you saying this is covered by 43 C (2) Nev.
  8. King12345, you know, the NHS is loosing good people daily, the ones with compassion can't actually cope with it all..I'm getting old now though, I can remember when the matron's office had a huge window over looking the ward..when matron said jump..the only question was how high.. There are some fantastic people working in the NHS, it is still the envy of many countries but, IMO we need to get a grip of the wrong culture that has thrived within.. But hey, this not a new problem, remember the brain drain? Nev.
  9. Thank you UB67, there are quite a few cases where similar complaints have been reported to the ET however, they take the view that the parties should be able to agree a workable bundle consequently, they often will not intervene. Would also like to say that we must not forget that the over riding objective is patient care and a better NHS for all service users. To expose cover up and bring those responsible to account. Regarding the public forum: In the interest of justice for those who have or contemplate action in the ET due to being victimised by an employer, even though the government have introduced steep charges for filing..hopefully anyone reading may get some benefit from our open discussion.. Though, we do appreciate your concern, thank you. Nev.
  10. Hi King12345, yes that has cheered me up no end..thanks. We have read many such cases of this kind of tampering ...it can show that the other side are on the back foot.. We have asked the solicitor to act in a professional manner or we would be forced to take the matter up with thier complaints procedure and the Solicitors Regulatory Authority or the Law Society. Nev.
  11. The bundle has arrived all 1200 pages of it... the solicitors have put a few of our documents in but, these have been copied so faint they can't be read also scattered around like confetti. The important docs have been left out in total. Looking at the grammer in thier investigation docs it's quite obvious they have been cut and pasted, we have applied for an inspection order which, thier solicitor is objecting to.. We are thinking to produce a mini bundle to go with our statement on the day with clear copies and cross referenced to the main bundle.. Anyone got any thoughts on this? Nev.
  12. Well OD, Again, I can only tell you from personal experience, it's not a predjudice at all and you appear to be continuing the tangent. I would be more than happy to post the letter from the regional office. Have ammended the above post 28 as the letter starts based on the limited information.. The fact is that some union reps are very good I hear however, some are not. Unison also claimed that the issue pre-dated membership which was totally not true. Just want to say this: OH had a meeting with the Unison rep and gave her all the documents including the protected disclosures..3 weeks later the Trust tried to fire wife..The reason we rang the rep 15 times or so was to ask her what had she done with the documents, who did she give the information to? No reply from the calls or texts.. What do you think the reason was for ignoring all contact? Nev PS: A union is not a recognised body to make a protected disclosure to under Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
  13. Hi, we did get the Unison regional office involved, they contacted the local in house rep..wrote a letter to us like.. Based on limited information what has happened here..you have been disciplined for misconduct and now you want to make a claim at the ET...went on to say..It's not unusal for an individual accused of bullying to launch a counter claim..there would be an investigation and at some point a conclusion would be reached..allegations of patient care would also form part of the investigation..without the referal from the local rep no merits assessment would have taken place..Taking all the points into consideration this is NOT a case Unison can support.. To be fair..we did not send the assessment forms back to them but, they felt they had enough information from the rep to make a judgement call on the case. What they failed to consider is the time frame involved when filing an ET claim also pronounced OH guilty in advance. we then went looking around for info re Unison representing people and a polithera of tales of woe emerged..one quote was nice " Unison are as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike":-) Think there is 6 month time limit for complaints under Trade Union Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992
  14. Hi obiter dictum, it's fine I can only tell you what happened. We tried to complain to the Unison Head Office, they said it has to start with the local rep however, with a multitude of phone calls and text messages she just ignored us..we then read a lot of similar stories on line..cancelled the membership, we did not want a further fight on our hands to be honest.. Nev.
  15. Hi, thanks for your reply. What happened with the union was simply that the Unison local rep based at the Hospital took the side of management and did not consider OH's view. In fact they condoned everything that was happening..wife made 22 calls to the rep who simply ignored her. Fact is Unison is a busted flush and very short of cash, just do a search on Google and read the stories about members who had paid in for 30 years and got no help at all. If you are a member of Unison reading this then our advice would be to cancel your payment asap..Oh yes, they even said wife had not been a member long enough which was total BS.. Chocolate fire guard.. If you obiter dictum took settlement were you gagged?
  16. Hello unclebulgaria67 and thanks for your post.. The environment is difficult that is true however, there is no excuse for not giving the basic standard of care. There is still a culture of cover up despite the Francis Report Following the Mid Staffs Trust inquiry.. The problem I faced personally was that the ability of some nurses was sadly lacking, I made 2 disclosures which were ignored..the sad fact is some staff work thier socks off while others are very lazy..we were under staffed for the type of ward i.e accute elderly..it was a disaster waiting to happen.. When patients and families complained they were ridiculed by staff, it was so bad staff were taking pictures of the neglect..the ward IMO was out of control due to loose management style and cover ups.. Yes, I went to my Union but, they refused to help, what people don't realise is that the Unions are in bed with management..double dealing the staff..I had a long letter from the regional office underlining the fact that they are not willing to help.. People also make the mistake of thinking HR are on your side, totally wrong again..everyone will close rank and try to discredit you..people who say they support you in speaking out..simply mealt away.. My disclosure would make anyones hair curl I can assure you of that..
  17. We went to pro bono yesterday a couple of nice law students attended with us. They will examine the issues and get back to us within 14 days..
  18. Hi, yes complex indeed as the other side will argue that the negative relationship with colleagues caused the resignation. I had stayed at home to bring three kids up now teenagers one at Uni etc, OH income was our only income so..we are as poor as church mice since this kicked off early part of the year.. The average settlement for such cases is £29K have put a schedule of loss with allowance for future loss etc..you know wife just wants justice for the patients and those inflicting harm to be brought to book for it.. Some interesting documents have turned up, one bully has put 3 statements one even saying that wife was waiting for her in the street and glared at the woman she ran in to work scared to death..we live 75 miles away and this was alledgedly months after wife resigned..she also said she had to have 2 months off work suicidal..like a bad episode of casualty.. ..the incident is getting like the Dick Turpin story more fantastic by the day..now wife had the woman pinned against the wall with a chair like a lion tamer lol.. Oh was working 60 hours per week, not because she wanted to but, they were always on the phone short staffed..worked holidays. She had mentioned she was stressed out by the problems of poor care..also ended up in A & E twice hurt by dementia patients being violent. Most people imagine a person with dementia to be a sweet little old lady who forgot where the tea bags are..
  19. Hi becky2585, thanks again.. The basic problem we might have goes like this..wife had been basically bullied by 2 co-workers for many months, management were aware of it and did not lift a finger..but, one night shift wife found herself working with the 2 bullies, a nurse who was subject to a PD and a sister who was also a bit anti. An argument broke out over the break allocation because the 2 bullies had left wife in a 1 to 1 situation for hours, not giving her a break etc..the sister being the senior staff should have stopped it all but, she did not say a word. Wife made a statement about the incident and so did the others, they all blamed wife because they had an incentive to do so, wife reported one of them before for pilfering ward stock..the strange thing, there was another nurse working with wife who said he saw nothing and was not asked for a statement. After the incident wife put a grievence regarding the bullies, entitled "On going problem with X & Y" emailed it to the matron. 21 days later the sister in charge during the incident called wife to a meeting after a 12 hour shift..wife asked what is the meeting about thinking it was the argument, the sister was saying it is your conduct on the night shift incident and this is really serious you might lose your job, wife said..I don't want to have the meeting with you because you in my eyes are part of the problem..then walked out. Wife contacted HR sent back to the sister, went to see the matron who said she could not talk to wife go to the meeting, union rep was next..same answer..wife came home and sent all the paperwork to a senior HR manager at 11am, on the same day at 6pm the sister called again, you must come to the meeting this is serious you might lose your job..wife kept asking what have I done? and I told you it's not fair you holding the meeting anyway, I sent everything to HR this morning. Wife then cancelled her night shift she was so stressed and weary..ended up under the doctor with stress and low mood, has had months of counsilling since.In the end felt forced to resign her post, the whole thing and the deceit got to her.. From the SAR we found that they were all in on it and they had accused wife of almost everything she put in her PD's..like playing snap. They had planned to dismiss her for gross misconduct..she had been a danger to the staff and patients that night..they were all terrified etc..yet, she worked another 12 night shifts after the incident.. In the SAR we were sent 2 statements from the incident type written with a long list of allegations, we asked for the 2 bullies statements but, had to get an ET judge to order it..they both said more or less there was an argument as we expected.. Recently during disclosure we can see that the matron said..she was not willing to act on the grievence and that there was an HR manager instructing the sister before the meeting.. The HR said we read the statements and it is all wife's fault.. One email said: Don't give her a copy of the minor breach until HR have checked it over..we called ACAS they said..you were fired we get loads of complaints like this about the NHS.. We were saying to ourselves if you were so bad why didn't they suspend you right away, why wait 3 weeks 12 x 12 hour shifts later etc, the plot thickens, wife did a day shift because they were short of staff, one of the bullies was working a night starting at 7-45pm..the woman claims wife verbally attacked her in the locker room..reported the incident to the night shift nurse in charge subject to the PD ( not the out going day shift nurse in charge)..the sister the one trying to hold a meeting kept calling the ward asking for the bullie..a support worker..(we imagine the conversation went like this X can you say X attacked you in the locker room) wow they all got excited and started sending emails around the world..another incident, this is good! Now we think that this is constructive unfair dismissal though, thier sols are saying because of les than 2 years service the Tribe has no jurisdiction to hear such a claim..it's denied that it is automatically unfair due to the PD's contrary to 103A ERA. We are saying there is a breach of trust and confidence, failures by management to protect wifes health and well being, subjected to a hostile environment..and more. It all sounds crazy right? Nev. PS: My keyboard is a bad spella so plz excuse any typo's
  20. Hi becky2585, thanks for your post. We had been sent 114 pages of extracts from documents during disclosure, when the actual hard copies of the complete documents arrived you can see that they have been altered. Quite a few documents have appeared in the way of documents not revealed at from an SAR. We have applied to the Tribunal to order inspection. The ET3 It is admitted that the documents submitted to the line manager contain disclosures which could amount to protected disclosures. With dedicated departments and staff an investigation should not take 3 to 4 months though, as you say it can. No we have not sought legal advice other than pro bono..
  21. Has anyone had any experience in an Employment Tribunal where they have requested disclosure of metadata? As we scan through the documents disclosed appears many new documents have been added not previously disclosed under an SAR.. Nev.
  22. Interestingly they have come up with 5 different versions of what happened..so much for Regulation 20.. During the 3 month internal investigation over seen by senior HR people..they have made a 300 page character assanination of wife..who has been under the doctor for the past 6 months.. We read an interesting comment on a blog which said:- Mr Fox kills all the chickens and Mrs Fox is put in charge of the investigation.. Current situation is thier solicitor is trying to fob us off with unindexed and none page numbered bundle of documents..we have applied to the Tribunal for an order to inspect documents as it is clear they have been altered..
  23. Yes failed is an understatement..do you mean Duty of Candour? We can't really say here what the disclosures relate to other than poor quality care of a very serious nature with devastating consequences being what are known as notifiable incidents. As this is a Foundation Trust the CQC say they are almost self governing and have internal reporting procedures which the CQC take as gospel..they refused to take steps until the next audit in 2016..hiding under the flag of This is an employment issue. The regulator for Trusts is the Monitor, they will look at the possibilty that the Trust is not well lead and may take action accordingly. We have notified the CQC, Monitor, DOH and Jeremy Hunt directly. We wait!
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