![]() Nagpaul said Foroughi was raising concerns about “unsafe surgical practices, specific instances of poor outcomes including patient mortality, a climate of fear and blame and inadequate governance processes”. The letter, from the then chair of the BMA, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said Foroughi’s dismissal was “shocking” and demanded his reinstatement. Last year, the British Medical Association, which is supporting Foroughi, wrote to the trust’s then chief executive, Marianne Griffiths, to protest at his treatment. At least two of the deaths followed procedures by a surgeon who soon afterwards was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the Guardian understands.įoroughi’s dossier also warned of “a constant threat of retaliation against those who raise legitimate concerns”. Foroughi’s concerns were set out to the trust in a 70-page dossier seen by the Guardian that details “worrying cases of mortality and permanent severe morbidity”. The other whistleblower is understood to be Mansoor Foroughi, a consultant neurosurgeon, who was sacked by the trust in December 2021 after he raised concerns about 19 deaths and 23 cases of serious patient harm in the previous six years.Ī disciplinary hearing chaired by Findlay said Foroughi was dismissed because he had acted in bad faith. The statement said the trust accepted that Singh’s whistleblowing was a so-called public interest disclosure and it denied that this was why he lost his role as clinical director. Witnesses from the trust, including two senior clinicians, risked “prejudicing their position in future criminal proceedings” if they gave evidence at the tribunal, he said. ![]() He said the police investigation could lead to “charges of serious offences including, perhaps, gross negligence manslaughter”. His employment tribunal hearing against the trust was adjourned this week because of the police investigation.Įxplaining the decision in a statement released on Friday, the judge, Daniel Dyal, said: “The police investigation overlaps significantly with the patient safety and mortality issues about which there is a lot of evidence in this case.”ĭyal revealed that it was the West Sussex coroner who had first reported allegations about the deaths to the police in April. Singh claimed the trust had promoted insufficiently competent surgeons and overused insufficiently skilled locums. ![]() One of the whistleblowers, Krishna Singh, an eminent surgeon, claimed he lost his post as the trust’s clinical director after raising concerns about patient safety, citing some of the deaths now under investigation.Įmployment tribunal documents show that he claimed that cost-saving changes at the hospital “were driven through that were grossly unsafe and ultimately drove up complication rates and patient mortality”. Both whistleblowers alleged the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths and learn from the mistakes made. It is understood about 40 deaths occurred between 20 after alleged errors in general surgery and neurosurgery departments. They were investigating allegations of “criminal culpability through medical negligence” made by “two separate clinical consultants” at the trust, the letter said. Last week, detectives from Sussex police wrote to the trust’s chief executive, George Findlay, confirming they had launched a formal investigation into “a number of deaths” at the RSCH.
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