Perjury by NHS workers in investigations

NHS England did not have the information requested.

Dear NHS England,

Since a previous requester placed similar question at

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

(1) Have there been any new moves to monitor, review or investigate perjury by NHS workers?

(a) in PHSO submitted evidence

(b) in HM Coroner Inquest evidence

Also:

(2) Please give the number of notified cases of each for last 5 years (or back to date within FOI permitted resource), or state where this information is available?

(3)Please give the current NHS class or consideration of such action where proven, for example in terms such as:

regrettable / bad practice / reprimandable / tribunal needed / dismissal / criminal offence

(4) What is the procedure to refer these instances to NHS England (as contractor)?

Yours faithfully,

C Rock

FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24), NHS England

Dear C Rock,

 

Thank you for your communication dated 24 July 2019.

 

NHS England has assessed your communication as a request under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000. As such, please be assured that your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the FOI Act and will be
answered within twenty working days.

 

For further information regarding the FOI Act, please refer to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. For further information
regarding NHS England and the information it publishes please visit our
website here.

 

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][NHS England request email] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the above reference
number in any future communications.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [2][NHS England request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [3][NHS England request email]

 

‘Health and High quality care for all, now and for future generations’

 

 

 

show quoted sections

FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24), NHS England

Dear C Rock,  

 

Thank you for your communication dated 24 July 2019.

 

Your exact request was:

 

“ Since a previous requester placed similar question at

 

[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

 

(1) Have there been any new moves to monitor, review or investigate
perjury by NHS workers?

 

(a) in PHSO submitted evidence

 

(b) in HM Coroner Inquest evidence

 

Also:

 

(2) Please give the number of notified cases of each for last 5 years (or
back to date within FOI permitted resource), or state where this
information is available?

 

(3)Please give the current NHS class or consideration of such action where
proven, for example in terms such as:

 

regrettable / bad practice / reprimandable / tribunal needed / dismissal /
criminal offence

 

(4) What is the procedure to refer these instances to NHS England (as
contractor)?””

 

NHS England does not hold information in relation to your request.

 

It may help if we first explain that NHS England is not the same as ‘the
NHS in England’. The NHS in England is not a single organisation but is
made up of a range of organisations such as Hospitals, Clinical
Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Ambulance Trusts. NHS England is
responsible for commissioning primary care services such as GP and dental
surgeries, as well as some specialised secondary care services. Therefore,
any recorded information NHS England may be able to provide in response to
an FOI request will generally relate to the services NHS England
commissions.

 

For information on commissioned services and the types of information NHS
England holds can be found on our [2]website and [3]publication scheme.
For further information on the NHS, its structure and other NHS
organisations please refer to the [4]NHS website.

 

As such, please note that any information provided is relevant to NHS
England staff only.

 

For ease of reference, we will answer each of your questions in turn.

 

Have there been any new moves to monitor, review or investigate perjury by
NHS workers?

(a) in PHSO submitted evidence

(b) in HM Coroner Inquest evidence

 

There have been no cases of perjury investigated by NHS England. NHS
England does not maintain any data around allegations of perjury. We do
not have a perjury policy.

 

Evidence at an inquest is given by witnesses under oath so they are under
a legal obligation to tell the truth. It is also expected for a member of
staff to tell the truth at an inquest as part of their duties and
responsibilities under their contract of employment.

 

 

Please give the number of notified cases of each for last 5 years (or back
to date within FOI permitted resource), or state where this information is
available? Please give the current NHS class or consideration of such
action where proven, for example in terms such as: regrettable / bad
practice / reprimandable / tribunal needed / dismissal / criminal offence

 

There have been no cases of perjury investigated by NHS England.

 

 

What is the procedure to refer these instances to NHS England (as
contractor)?

 

Other NHS organisations are under no obligation to refer any instances of
perjury to NHS England.

 

Information on cases of perjury within other NHS organisations may be held
by them. As such, you may wish to redirect your request accordingly. You
can find information on other NHS organisations on the NHS website at the
following web link:

 

o [5]http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/abou...

 

 

We hope this information is helpful. However, if you are dissatisfied, you
have the right to ask for an internal review. This should be requested in
writing within two months of the date of this letter. Your correspondence
should be labelled “Internal Review” and should outline your concerns
and/or the area(s) you would like the review to consider. Internal Review
requests should be sent to:

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Email: [6][NHS England request email]

 

Please quote the reference number FOI-059822 in any future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [7][email address]  

Website: [8]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Please be aware that in line with the Information Commissioner’s directive
on the disclosure of information under the FOI Act, your request will be
anonymised and published on our website as part of our disclosure log.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows: PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [9][NHS England request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [NHS England request email]

show quoted sections

Dear FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24),

You have said:

There have been no cases of perjury investigated by NHS England.

NHS England does not maintain any data around allegations of perjury.

We do not have a perjury policy.

Evidence at an inquest is given by witnesses under oath so they are under a legal obligation to tell the truth.
[Legal obligation...]

It is also expected for a member of staff to tell the truth at an inquest as part of their duties and responsibilities under their contract of employment [Very interesting! - 'Expected' - but not monitored...]

[Again:] There have been no cases of perjury investigated by NHS England.

Q: What is the procedure to refer these instances to NHS England (as contractor)?
A: NHS organisations are under no obligation to refer any instances of perjury to NHS England.
[Again: Very interesting ]

Thank you
Yours sincerely,

C Rock

LJoNes left an annotation ()

To assist: There have been no cases of perjury investigated by NHS England(NHSE). Not strictly true, as I tried reporting perjury in NHS to a number of NHS bodies, all of whom despite statements to the contrary refuse to accept my complaint. Most of the NHS Bodies and others (i.e. Healthwatch Walsall and also Sandwell, National Guardians Freedom To Speak Up, NHS Commissioners, NHS Improvements, others and even the organisation I plan to report informed me that as regulator for Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS England is the organisation who have a legal obligation to accept my complaint. Despite, my attempts now been ongoing since 2015 NHSE still refuse to investigate, even though statements of NHSE own staff to parliament and Dept of Health and Social Care, myself and others, legal documentation, etc support the advise I have been given. PHSO response has been that NHSE have a legal obligation to respond and they can only get involved when I my complaint has been addressed, but I remain dissatisfied.
Evidence at an inquest is given by witnesses under oath so they are under a legal obligation to tell the truth.
[Legal obligation...]
It is also expected for a member of staff to tell the truth at an inquest as part of their duties and responsibilities under their contract of employment [Very interesting! - 'Expected' - but not monitored...]
Because my complaint has not yet been accepted and because PHSO and others refuse to intervene, there has been no inquest, but as a former NHS employee (who witnessed how senior managers treated patients, staff and even potential employees) I did try to take my employer to Employment Tribunal, where Perjury was apparent and legal obligation meant nothing. Suffice to say NHS officials and their lawyers where happy to abuse every aspect of employment law and were facilitated in doing so, by other NHS officials and officers and judges and clerk to the courts.

C Rock left an annotation ()

Thank you LJoNes - I note your valuable comments.

The entire [NHS] system is a mess and easly lends to corruption of purpose i.e. helping the sick through carrying out best practice as determined and documented by expert teams wherever possible and to fully communicate any doubts, procedures or potential outcomes.

The backsliding, double-speak and vigorous defence of negligences and errors have no place in NHS England whomever actually funds/contracts the service. Are not NHSE concerned?

Prime failures are the absence of a practised need for candour and the absence of any accountable Complaints system, involving a highly NHS-pliant PHSO accountable to nobody, in real terms. In particular the denigration and ridiculing of complainants and whistle-blowers is an NHSE continuing shame.

Following a potential perjury in Coroners' Court, I have now found that so-called professionals acting in a long-standing and unresolved case related to avoidable death apparently submitted new opinions directly countering previous statements and policies at BSMHFT. BSMHFT CEO (as signatory) and PHSO allowed this in a colluded minor 'Finding' whilst dismissing very revealing negligence and/or maladministration which the NHS Trust found too hard to swallow.

Such attitudes seriously affect the would-be NHS beneficiaries in terms of further avoidable harm and death, as I see it.