PROFESSOR Bren Neale yesterday condemned private treatment centres as dangerous and demanded that they be brought back into the NHS.
This follows on from the death of her partner Dr John Hubley as a result of ‘appalling’ and ‘lamentable’ treatment at an Independent Sector Treatment Centre.
She is demanding a professional review of care in all these units.
‘John’s death, and the deaths of others, raises serious questions about standards of care and patient safety in these privately run treatment centres,’ she told News Line yesterday.
An inquiry into care at Eccleshill Private Treatment Centre last week heard that ‘appalling’ safety standards led to the death of Dr John Hubley, a healthcare specialist, in January 2007, after an operation to remove his gall bladder.
Professor Neale is calling for a professional review of the safety of Independent Sector Treatment Centres, the privately run centres which the NHS commissions to carry out treatments.
‘What we have here is a system of health which is fragmented, a conveyor belt system which is concerned with throughput,’ she said.
‘The recent inspection was carried out in response to the inquest findings.
‘The points I would want to add is that John’s death is not an isolated case and this raises questions about the policy of commissioning and funding these units; hence the need for a professional review of these units.’
A BMA spokesperson said: ‘This is a very worrying case. The BMA has long had concerns about Independent Sector Treatment Centres. It is essential that services are fully integrated to ensure quality of care for patients.’
The Eccleshill Private Treatment Centre treats NHS patients and is funded with NHS money, but privately owned, managed and operated and therefore not publicly accountable for the quality of its services in the same way that NHS trusts are.
‘John’s death revealed a number of serious deficiencies in dealing with the complications that arose prior to and during his operation,’ wrote Professor Neale after his inquest.
‘I wonder how many patients at Eccleshill were aware, when they signed their consent forms for a blood transfusion, that no blood was kept on the premises and that the policy and protocols for obtaining blood were, in the words of the Coroner, woefully inadequate?’
The Coroner described protocol at the centre as ‘Mickey Mouse’ and ‘a recipe for disaster’ and leadership at the centre was described as ‘lamentable’.
The inquest heard how the anaesthetist had to order blood himself on his mobile phone and when he tried to contact the blood bank the line was continually engaged.
