GOSPORT, South East coast, England —

The hospital deaths scandal continues…

A new criminal investigation is to take place into the deaths of hundreds of patients who were given “dangerous” levels of painkillers at a hospital.

An inquiry found 456 patients died after being given opiate drugs at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1987 and 2001.

A review has since been carried out by Kent and Essex Police to assess if there was “sufficient new evidence”.

Relatives have been told a “full investigation” will begin.

Three previous investigations into 92 of the deaths by Hampshire Constabulary resulted in no charges being brought.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing, head of serious crime at Kent and Essex Police, met relatives at a meeting in Fareham.

Speaking at a press conference afterwards, he promised a “thorough and independent” investigation with a range of offences, including murder, to be considered.

He said police would not be interviewing hospital staff but meeting families individually to collect statements on their relatives’ experiences of the hospital.

The Gosport Independent Review Panel report, published in June 2018, found there was a “disregard for human life” at the hospital.

It also found an “institutionalised regime” of prescribing and administering amounts of opiate medication that were not clinically justified.

The report said the quality of previous police investigations had been “consistently poor”.

It found whistleblowers and families were ignored as they attempted to raise concerns about the administration of medication on the wards, which was overseen by Dr Jane Barton.

Dr Barton retired after being found guilty by a medical panel of failings in her care of 12 patients at Gosport between 1996 and 1999.

In a statement last year, Dr Barton said she was a “hard-working doctor” who was “doing her best” for patients in a “very inadequately resourced” part of the NHS.

MEAG COMMENT: But doctor found enough resources to bump patients off.

READ MORE OF THE BBC NEWS:

Dr Jane Barton has questions to answer

HOBART, TASMANIA – Patients are dying and being injured because of deteriorating conditions at the Royal Hobart Hospital, emergency doctors say.

The department’s registrars have written a scathing no-holds-barred 5-page letter to management, saying they have “grave concerns” and can provide examples of “direct patient injury and death” because of worsening conditions and bed block.

Read more ABC News story:

Emergency doctors warn patients dying, conditions unsafe at Royal Hobart Hospital

SYDNEY

The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) – New South Wales’ answer to “healthcare watchdog” is dysfunctional. It should be shut down. It does not know how to bark.

How many cases is it stuffing up? This is the question.

It continually fails to appropriately assess hundreds of patients’ complaints because of “a dysfunctional workplace culture”, a whistleblower has claimed. But MEAG says it’s maladministration.

Fifteen years ago the then NSW Opposition Leader John Brogden, called for 9,000 cases to be re-assessed. This did not happen. MEAG made a substantial submission to the Walker Inquiry at the time but still the government did not act.

What happened to those 9,000 complaints? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Too many cases are not being looked at, dismissed without being investigated, i.e. real investigation, not a sideways glance.

As for its claim “Protecting Public Health and Safety” – a misnomer indeed. Fake news!

MEAG says shut it down now. It serves no purpose to both patients and doctors.

Read more of the ABC News Greg Miskelly’s story:

The NSW healthcare watchdog ‘dysfunction’ jeopardising patient safety, whistleblower claims

C. R. BARD Inc., one of the biggest manufacturers of vaginal mesh implants, is ending all production and marketing after years of campaigning by women around the world.

Why the decision was not made sooner is astonishing considering C. R. BARD Inc. ceased the use of certain mesh production in the USA 6 years ago.

An aged care home on the far New South Wales south coast is reviewing its procedures, after maggots were found in a resident’s head wound.

Staff at the Eden Bupa aged care facility will undergo additional training.

Medical Error Action Group founder Lorraine Long tells Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham “you couldn’t hear anything more appalling.”

“The government just cannot understand what is going on in nursing homes.

“Bupa is continually being sanctioned.  Not just in Eden but across the states.”

“These instances need to stop.”

In a statement, the facility said they are working to ensure the resident receives appropriate care.

“Well, it’s not good enough Bupa.  It’s not once.  It’s repetitive.  It’s “routine”. You’ve got your eyes closed to your failures in care.”  

“If the general public can find out what’s going, how come your management can’t?” said Lorraine Long.

Dr Emil Shawky GAYED‘s malpractice was known to NSW Ministry of Health as far back as 25 years ago. The ministry let him loose on trusting women patients. These health bureaucrats deserve the sack. They’ll probably instead be ‘gonged’ for services to medical maladministration and malpractice.

How often do we have to read: “NSW Health system failed each of these women”. Heard this before? Yes, all too often. But what changes? Nothing. Why? Institutionalized indifference to human life.

What evil lurks within the NSW Ministry of Health to allow women, people for that, to be harmed and killed? As long as it didn’t happen to them.

Read more of The Guardian’s story:

Damning report finds staff densensitised to his errors

CANBERRA —

If you knew what we know about breaches of medical record containment, you would OPT OUT without blinking.

Every transaction will be entered on My Health Record.  Don’t believe government that it will have fortress-like security.  Records are not secure now.

While this is an initiative for some peculiar reason,
next step will be an ID CARD. This is Big Brother collecting more
information on you.  Hasn’t government got enough already?  The nation’s
health as a whole in one basket… scary!  And your DNA.  The government
may start in years to come to profile you.

Insurance companies and Big Pharma will see this as a
treasure-trove of information they will seek to access for purported
research purposes. Governments are notorious for farming out such to the
private sector.  Plus other sticky-beaks such as:

— Employers to deny you employment.

— Big Pharma to flog more drugs for you to take.

— Insurance companies to refuse to insure you.

Plus subpoenas served by:

— Medical defence for court cases.

— Insurance companies to deny your claims.

And remember our governments privatise anything they see
as a cash-cow such as our utilities, roads, hospitals, airports, ports,
electric light poles and wires, general post office, land titles office
and the rest.

Just think what a goody-bag our health records would be.

Don’t forget the many medical errors made every day.
 Those errors will be transferred to your MY HEALTH RECORD and may kill
you.

Think about it.  Make your decision wisely.

LONDON —

Infected blood inquiry opens:  The inquiry will investigate claims of a cover-up at the Department of Health and the deliberate destruction of documents.

Last year SkyNews revealed previously unseen cabinet papers that suggested ministers were aware of the scale of the contamination problem in 1987.

Read Paul Kelso of SkyNews’ full story:

Infected blood inquiry opens – Contaminated blood victims seek answers

NEWCASTLE, New South Wales —

Gynaecologist Richard Ian REID, 76, who left a trail of devastated women patients across two countries and two Australian states exhibited such extreme conduct it was hard to distinguish his most serious failings, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found today.

Dr Reid lacked honesty, “effectively abandoned” a woman patient with serious complications after pelvic mesh surgery, misrepresented himself as a professor and associate professor, “flagrantly ignored” conditions over his medical practice, failed to gain patient consent before implanting pelvic mesh in women and exhibited “zeal” for a surgical theory practised by only two or three other gynaecologists in the country.

Read more of Joanne McCarthy’s report in Fairfax’s Newcastle Herald:

A NSW tribunal would have de-registered gynaecologist Richard Reid, but he retired before its decision

LONDON —

Former UK Prime Minister John Major is among the politicians who could face questions over their role in transfusions that led to thousands of deaths in the UK.

As for Australia’s contaminated blood scandal, where 3 times more Aussies ended up with contaminated blood that their British counterparts, our politicians will be facing similar questions before long for they too went to great lengths to keep a lid on Australia’s scandal.  But truth always surfaces, eventually.

Read more of The Sunday Times UK from Caroline Wheeler:

John Major named in blood scandal dossier