Health Secretary Shona Robison is under fresh pressure to order the immediate reinstatement of two surgeons suspended from their jobs at the north-east’s flagship hospital.
A group of 16 distinguished medical professionals and patients– all with links to NHS Grampian – have reiterated a call on her to launch a judge-led inquiry into the management of the troubled health board.
Queen’s Surgeon in Scotland, Professor Zyg-munt Krukowski, and his general surgery colleague Wendy Craig were suspended from their jobs at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary last month.
NHS Grampian bosses are facing allegations they had taken “revenge” on the pair for raising serious concerns about the running of the hospital.
The health board hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons last year and three separate inquiries were launched into ARI and Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen.
Lead campaigner Dr Donnie Ross, 71, who was NHS Grampian’s medical director from 1994-2001 and retired in 2003, said there was a question mark over whether it was in the public interest to suspend the two surgeons.
The open letter said: “NHS Grampian should consider immediate withdrawal of the suspension and concentrate on its primary role of providing safer, better care.”
It claims that the health board had resorted to similar disciplinary action on previous occasions in relation to doctors raising “legitimate clinical concerns” which have resulted in major disruption to patient care and considerable cost to the public purse.
“For example a recent action against a group of consultants in ophthalmology (eye speciality) resulted in serious damage being inflicted on the department, with the loss of several outstanding staff members including the enforced retirement of the professor of ophthalmology,” it stated.
The signatories claimed the health board spent more than £2million on locum fees and private treatment over a three year period as a consequence.
The letter called on Ms Robison to order a full judicial inquiry into the conduct of NHS Grampian before, during and after the Heath Improvement Scotland and Royal College of Surgeons of England investigations.
NHS Grampian refuse to comment on surgeons
NHS Grampian is refusing to comment on the employment status of the two suspended surgeons but reassured patients that high standards of care were provided at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
A spokeswoman said the board’s disciplinary processes were “full and robust” and decisions about staff were never taken lightly and only reached after a thorough analysis of the circumstances in each individual case.
She added that the Healthcare Improvement Scotland report did not raise any consistent or widespread concerns about patient safety or about the quality of care.
The spokeswoman said: “We understand that recent publicity may have left patients feeling anxious about their clinical care.
“We want to reassure patients that we remain committed to the highest standards of care and appropriate plans are being put in place to ensure that the individual needs of patients continue to be met with minimal impact or delay.”
The spokeswoman said locum doctors were a necessary expense for any NHS board and provided “vital support” to staff when situations arise.
“Using locum doctors ensures that we can continue to provide a service to our patients and their use is driven by clinical imperative rather than by cost,” she added.
The spokeswoman said the board had accepted all recommendations set out in reviews by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, which found issues with leadership and management, culture and behaviour, accountability and governance.
“We acknowledge this has been a challenging time but firmly believe we are making good progress in addressing the issues raised,” she added.