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Thursday 14 February 2013

Whistle-blower’s revelations "beggar belief" in the light of Mid Staffs findings, says NHA party

The leader of the National Health Action party, which is fielding its first ever candidate in the Eastleigh by-election, has spoken out today about the experience of  NHS whistle-blower Gary Walker. Mr Walker was dismissed as chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals trust after expressing concerns about the balance between meeting targets and delivering patient care effectively. 

NHA co-leader Dr Clive Peedell, a cancer specialist from Teeside, said: "Following the publication of the Francis report and the calls for more transparency and accountability in the NHS to help avoid further episodes of poor care, these revelations beggar belief. It is clear that lessons are not being learned" With his house at risk, Mr Walker was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement with a “supergag”, which he has decided to breach in the wake of the Francis report and the condemnation of such agreements.

Founded by doctors and other health care professionals, the NHA Party will hold a rally in Eastleigh this Sunday (17th). The party’s candidate Dr Iain MacLennan is a public health specialist, who retired from Hampshire Primary Care Trust in January. He also worked as a GP for a number of years and served as a medical officer for 10 years in the Royal Navy. He is campaigning in Eastleigh today. The NHA party, which is also planning to field 50 candidates at the General Election, wants to reverse the current drive for privatisation of NHS services, halt the £20bn cuts and re-focus hospital trusts on patient outcomes rather than financial targets.

Author Mark Haddon, who shot to fame with his bestselling book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time”, about a maths genius with Asperger’s Syndrome, has backed the NHA party as “the only party genuinely committed to standing up for the NHS”. On Sunday, a prominent ex-Lib Dem local party chairman and former NHS chief defected to the NHA Party. Dr Graham Winyard, former Chair of Winchester & Chandlers Ford Lib Dems and the ex-Deputy Chief Medical Officer of England & Wales, called on voters in Eastleigh to send a strong message to the other parties by supporting the NHA Party.