Maidstone Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Copy of my article to the Eastern Daily Press 11th Oct. following reports
that Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has had 90 deaths from
Clostridium difficile.

This evening's news, 11th Oct., that Alan Johnson has withheld
severance pay from the departing head of the Maidstone & Tunbridge
Wells NHS Trust is small relief to the relatives of those who died of
Clostridium difficile. It seems, from reports, that cross infection and
hygiene were given lower priority than patient waiting time targets.
Surely a classic case of 'the operation was a success but, sadly, the
patient died'.
Anyway, why should NHS managers receive Golden Hellos &
Goodbyes; aren't wages and performance bonuses good enough for
them? The only departing accolade someone who presided over such a
mess should expect, should be a P45 or criminal charges.

As further evidence that the lunatics are running the asylum, St.
George's Hospital in South London has announced that it is to introduce a
hand scanning system (costing £600,000) to clock staff in & out of work.
As the BMA and Unison point out, hundreds or people placing their hands
on the same place every day is not the cleverest way to prevent cross
infection. To top it all, the hospital is £30m in debt. What happens when
it's a full moon?!

Alan Johnson also announced screening of patients before entering
hospitals; has he actually been taking notes from foreign hospitals, like in
Russia, where this novel practice has been going on for years? Better
late than never Alan! Now that he is in an open frame of mind, I can also
suggest he visits
Winston Churchill Fellowship where a
Winston Churchill Fellow has written a report on how to overcome
hospital infections without spending lots of money. The only problem is
that implementing this report would require a change in thinking from our
NHS/political masters; and pigs might also fly.

Winston Churchill Fellowship member Grace Filby's report on the health benefits of bacteriophages.

To Winston Churchill Fellowship page