WESTMORLAND and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has slammed the UK's healthcare watchdog after a doctor was found by a tribunal to be wrongly dismissed for raising safety concerns.
Shayn Kumar, an orthapeaedic surgeon for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Nay (UHMBT) NHS Trust, was found to have been unfairly dismissed from his advisory role for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2019 by the Manchester Employment Tribunal.
Between 2015 and 2019, Mr Kumar had written to colleagues at the CQC, for whom he worked as a part-time special advisor on hospital inspection, to report serious concerns regarding inadequate hospital inspections, staff bullying, and serious patient harm.
The tribunal's judgement confirmed that the safety issues Mr Kumar raised played a significant role in his dismissal.
Mr Farron said after the verdict was given: "It is deeply alarming that the CQC – the body we are supposed to trust to protect patients and NHS staff - has been found guilty of wrongly dismissing a doctor who was raising serious safety concerns.
"I've been proud to support Dr Kumar as he’s fought this case but sadly this is yet another example of a whistle-blower in our local NHS being treated appallingly.
"It is painfully clear that we need a complete culture change when it comes to how the NHS responds to staff who raise concerns about patient safety.
"This can only come about if the Trust and the CQC admit that they have been guilty of punishing whistle-blowers who were only seeking to...
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