NHS whistleblower Raj Mattu wins £1.22m

Cardiologist Raj Mattu was awarded 1.22million by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire trust after his dismissal when raising concerns about patient care and safety.

His story is a harsh lesson of the wrath of the establishment that befalls many whistleblowers, and their long struggle for justice.

Dr Raj Mattu and his wife Sangeeta at home in Warwick, surrounded by the files connected to his case.

Cardiologist Raj Mattu was vilified and bullied in a 12-year “witch-hunt” after making the claims at Walsgrave hospital in Coventry in 2001.

He was sacked in 2010, but Birmingham employment tribunal ruled that he had been unfairly dismissed.

He was quoted as saying:

The overriding feeling I and my wife have is relief that there is finally a full stop. For the first time in 15 years I can look forward and plan things for the future.”

Mattu publicly exposed overcrowding and fears for patient safety at the hospital in 2001 and was suspeneded a year later after being accused of bullying. In 2010 he was dismissed by the hospital.

The tribunal found that Mattu was a whistleblower and had been “subjected to detriments” because of this, but they had been presented out of time and therefore could not be considered as part of the case.

But it found the trust was at fault by holding a disciplinary hearing against Mattu while he was in hospital and could not attend.

In a statement the trust said:

“While £1.22m is a large amount, it is a significant reduction from the original claim and has finally resolved this matter. We accept that it has been difficult for all involved and are relieved that this case has now been brought to an end.”

Mattu trained as a registrar at hospitals in Sheffield and London after graduating in medicine, and worked at nine NHS hospitals before moving to Coventry’s then Walsgrave hospital.

In a witness statement submitted to the tribunal, he accused his employer of endangering lives by allowing overcrowding on its wards. Describing his treatment by the trust as a “tragedy”, the cardiologist said: “My case turns on many events, which start in 1998 with my raising serious concerns about patient safety at the trust.

These concerns progress and culminate in my publicly blowing the whistle regarding lies told by the trust in an attempt to cover up the avoidable deaths of patients.”

But he claimed his disclosures “fell on deaf ears” and when he made them public “resulted in a witch-hunt”.

OBV Staff writer

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/04/dismissed-