Dear SIN,
".....It has made such a differnce to me just knowing there are people out there who understand.... As you will know,. we become used to having doors closed in our faces....."  bs

" .....we are a health, wellbeing and quality of life group ..we would be glad to help you ....but we have no funding. Our local hospital learned absoultely nothing from the CHI inspection...it is just a waste of money. The public need to wake  up and face the music!....."  scc

 " Happy New year to SIN. I think your website is wonderful..."
                                                                                        member of the public

"....What you have set up is just what is needed: care for people who have been damaged and the end to the terrible cover-ups to which we are all subjected ..... ........"                                                                                      ce                                                                                      

" What ever you do don't give up - you are the only hope we have....!"  rt

" I have just had the good fortune of being sent a link to your site...... keep up the excellent work. Luv your site."                                    member of the public

"Your case histories shame the nation......."                       members of the public

"We have the exact same problems here (USA) that you have there in England" - voices from USA

"..I have had a chance to read your SIN publications and am very impressed. They come across as being very professional and well researched and expressed. I'm sure any fairminded person reading them couldn't fail to be convinced by your arguments and suggested remedies. I really think you've achieved an awful lot....." member of the public.

"We found your website and were impressed!  Members of public.

"I think your organisation is wonderful!"  Member of public.

" I quickly looked at your site, when I say quickly I decided to check it out for, you know, 5 - 10 minutes. But you have put together a fantastic site wth so much information that I spent an hour reading some of the members' stories. Another member of my family spent nearly 2 hours on your website and he too was very impressed. Keep up the good fght! Knowing that your fighting the corner may allow some of us to sleep just a little bit better..."  Members of public.

Your site is a horror story in many regards, but a light in the wilderness as well. Keep on fighting the self-opinionated  #$%^@  wherever you can and good luck...that should be good JUSTICE!           voice from 'Down Under'

Thank you for your letter and all your effort. It must have been an incredible drain on your energy........I fear you may be used by the system and your ideas poached.... I hope you have recovered from that incredible effort. Best wishes.

"Thank you for all that effort and support....It was good to meet up with colleagues..." ads

" I am sorry I shall not be able to be with you, but I am not well enough to travel........I wish you every success...."  stj

"...Your website is excellent...." member of the public

"Your website is excellent. Just what we need over here." voice from America

" Its taken me two years to find your website. Its brilliant! I could have written every word of it myself....you  do not know how much you have done for my morale - to know that I am not on my own...."  mb

"  Not a day passes but that we do not  think of you.....you will never know what you have done for us.....we are no longer alone ...you have given us hope....Thank you for all you have done."  jtr

....your Report [ "The Patient's Voice For Equity]  was absolutely brilliant, erudite, succinct and made fabulous reading. It encompassed all the things which are wrong with the Health Service   ..........I have photocopied the report and given it to people who I know are interested, mainly because they have been shabbily treated themselves, and they think its great!....JJ

"...I am being blacklisted....I was wondering if you would have any suggestions of what we could do.....?" Voice from Canada

" Please accept my sincere thanks for your telephone chat, support, newsletter and copy of your "Aims & Objectives". ......Thank you for all the time, effort, emotional energy and funds you have given to set up SIN. It is really much appreciated." sa

 "You are doing a mammoth, long awaited task.....Keep fighting for us all...Hope to meet you at Downing Street or Brussels one day! Greetings and deepest thanks". mfd

"...Thank you so much for sending me the booklet. I have read it all through and I totally agree with everything in it. I believe you have set out all the views, hopes and aspirations felt by all your members and indeed all sufferers of iatrogenic neglect. A great deal of hard work has obviously gone into it and it is very professionally presented, so lets hope the powers that be take notice. I hope your membership is growing strong and that you  both are taking care of yourselves, in spite of the stirling work you are doing for OUR CAUSE..." lj

"....Thank you for the copy of your excellent report. Slowly, very slowly these mistakes are being publicised by the media who are finding the courage to expose the medical profession at last. The rising cost of legislation was given out on the TV news but no emphasis on the suffering of the victims..".we

"....Thanks for the excellent brochure of SIN, and I'll be getting into it in greater depth in the near future....." sd

""it was nice to speak to you. What a well thought out info. pack and "Aims & Objectives".  You have really  identified all the problem areas. I sincerely hope you achieve what you have set out.... It is heartening to find people like yourselves giving time to others.  People Power can do so much." mb

" I had a look on your web site the other night, very interesting reading Lord Woolf's Report. I shall go back onto it again, i am amazed at how much work you both  have put into it......"  SC

"....Love the website. Keep up the good work! Best wishes. pj

"  I think your web site is very impressive...."  wss

"Your website is very good...."  GJ

"...I can only say that I agree with all your aims and objectives one hundred percent. Your support and pressure group is exactly what is needed: "support for victims by victims", for only those who have suffered iatrogenic illness can understand the anger and trauma involved to both victim and relatives...
"You seem to be very well organised and informed. I am sure your organisation will grow in leaps and bounds... I shall look forward to receiving more news from you as things develop. meanwhil keep up the good work. Doctors have had their day, now it is the victim's turn ( I admit not all doctors are bad, but most are dishonest because they have to be in some cases). Good Luck". lh

" Thank you both for your kind and sympathetic letter. We had begun to believe that there were no more honest and trustworthy  people in this present society". BS

"I admire your courage to acquire the much required changes needed regarding NHS treatment, the Complaints Procedure and the need of respect for the individual patient.....only by numbers of patients working together can these changes be evolved..." ma

"Many thanks for your info.......and jolly good luck with all you're doing and thank you for your good wishes."    IM

" We were delighted to be able to join SIN....wishing you well."

"I should like to support Sufferers of Iatrogenic Neglect in its endeavours." TL

"Thank you for your phone call....A big thank you for all your hard work and perseverence in presenting the "Aims & Objectives" of SIN."  CM

" Thank you  for all your good work."  MR

" I was impressed with your interview with Woman's Hour....thank you for all your good work" MD

"Many thanks for listening to me....and thank you for the help you have given to others." TJ

"Thank you for all your hard work....... Best wishes." MC

" Delighted to receive your info.....For years I have been writing to anyone who would listen(?) on this subject......the reply from the Patient's Association was hardly encouraging....official replies were all negative... my very best wishes to you all." VW

"I think you should be congratulated on setting up this organisation which goes a long way in setting out peoples' objections with the NHS. Best wishes"   BS

" ....with congratulations .... you are doing a stirling job."  SBB

" Sorry for the delay in responding to the newsletter ( which is excellent)......many thanks for your help and support .....keep up the good work". RB

" Thank you for organising the SIN meeting. I found the meeting very useful and informative. Thank you very much for your efforts." AA

" Congratualtions on the superb Newsletter ( Autumn 2000) . Your orgnisation is desperately needed by all who have been damaged and cannot fight back. " EW

" I did try to ring you to congratulate you on your first newsletter... you have included a great deal of information. I know what a great deal of effort it requires.... best wishes."  BA

"I think your questionnaire is excellent and you are doing a good job."  IB

" There really is a need for SIN and similar pressure groups. Once again my thanks and best of luck for SIN in general." JP

" Thank you for the first issue of SIN's Newsletter. I found it very interesting to read of the activities you have been involved in on behalf of all your members of SIN. It is comforting to know that we now have an organisation which is truly representing the concerns of people who have been killed, hurt or damaged by the medical profession which, to me, in its present culture is no longer an" honourable" professsion ...Keep up your good work .... I hope you membership is growing as we have just seen what the power of people can do with the petrol boycott - there is strength in numbers. .Change has got to come, it is well overdue. Thank you for your efforts on our behalf. Best wishes. jl

" Belated thanks for the Autumn Newsletter which I found very interesting........Many thanks for all your support and help and we hope that the situation will eventually improve with all your efforts"  kh

" Many thanks for the SIN magazine ....Good luck in your forthcoming plans for SIN....cm
 

Re: Anne's Case:
"...I just had to check the literature....Yes, a raised area equal to or greater than 5mm would be considered significant  and further tests should be performed. Somebody who is an "old TB" would have some reaction but I am very sure that it would never reach 90mms......I am now totally convinced that self-regulation is no longer possible after this. The profession is not fit  to regulate  itself,  and it is the number of doctors who have been involved that is so incredible. A profession can take a few bad apples but not this many...."   concerned health professional.
[SIN has had many people getting in touch expressing great concern about Anne. On person said that public flogging would be too good for the doctors involved! Unfortunately Anne is by no means unique, there are many victims of medical errors who are struggling to obtain the medical care they require and are entitled to as British citizens.]

"...My experience is just an expensive and exhaustive repetition as that of others. I feel I have been out manoeuvred and disbelieved by the Complaints Convener. She was quick to select one short letter as the basis of the Trust's answer on which to base her assessment. I mistakenly  presented some evidence directly to her assuming that she would show it to the Trust. I have resubmitted these comments but they have not responded other than to send me to the Ombudsman......".sa

"...I am appalled at the recent un-heralded legislation proposed ( possibly thru' by now) about patients' notes no longer being subject to confidentiality protection .... anyone official has access...." dm { This breach of our confidentialtiy has been going on for years,  although  it has been unlawful . We believe that  doctors,  Trust and Health Authority Lawyers , the MDU and the MPS hav been  accessing  our confidential medical records without our knowledge and without our permission. This new law will presumably make what has been unlawful , now lawful. Another way the civil servants have effectivley disempowered the patient. When were patients consulted on this matter?]

" As you have probably gathered, your prediction came true as my case was dismissed at my case study conference to which unfortunately I had to attend alone. It was a rather humiliating and traumatic experience: the doctors who were there to prove my case even made jokes about women in childbirth and how things 'went wrong' because they gave birth in the middle of the night rather than at a 'civilised hour'...... I have not talked about it much since it hapened....." pjh

" ...the whole system is corrupt and is weighted heavily in favour of the medical profession. .....there have been situations during the run of my case in which doctors and surgeons that have treated me during my illness have lied when put under question....if it were not for my very strong feelings of injustice I would have given into the system some time ago.....I feel that my misfortune could be of help to others". ew.

"....I can remember very caring doctors from my childhood but now it is profit based and dominated by drug barons.. they close ranks to protect themselves against the patients they've damaged. Self regulation is farcical and impossible..."  vw

" ....The alteration of medical records, the difficulty of obtaining favourable medical report, the collusion and cover up, the attacks on a person's character and crediblity .....I thought that I was the only person encountering these problems and felt very isolated....It is disgraceful that a report by a medical expert is given precedence over the actual evidence." sa.

"..she died in indescribable pain and distress......until her dying day the hospital was adamant that she did not have cancer, and indeed, was not seriously ill at all. Her pain and other symptoms were not believed or addressed. Instead of receiving palliative care, she was subjected to rigorous rehabilitation regimes..... the post-mortem revealed a large cancer....Since that time I have battled unsucessfully with the hospital for an investigation, explanation and apology. I have been refused an Independent Review following supposedly independent clinical reports obtained by the hospital. I have also been refused sight of these reports." et

" I have been through the obstructive and farcical hospital complaints system, have involved my MP and the new Health Secretary, have written dozens of letters to the GMC and employed the sevices of three solicitors, all of whom have taken my money and then backed off when the real facts of this case had to be faced." pg

"...... I suspected my name had been put on a doctor's blacklist. So, in order to confirm this I contacted a private hospital on a pretext. They did not get back to me with an appointment as promised. To be sure, I did this again with a BUPA hospital, with the same result. Now....... I believe I may also be the victim of character assassination." dm

" ....Local Resolution had been attempted, but had been unsuccessful. The notes of the meeting we had both with the Health Authority and the Trust left out vital issues which had been discussed ( notes were taken by their Complaints Officer]. We corrected this omission in writing..........
"It took us six months to find out how to complain via the NHS Complaints System, and even the local CHC failed to inform us properly........
" We are finding the system extremely hard to understand and extremely stressful in terms of putting our case clearly in writing........
"Given the stress that one is already under because of the sense of grievance ( the reason for the complaint) the system imposes further stress on anyone brave enough to actually formally  pursue their complaint........ There is no doubt in our minds that complaining is likely to result in victimisation, but having had years and years of problems as a result of our child's disabilities, we now don't care and will continue our lifelong fight for a  decent quality of life for our child." re

" ...In spite of complaining bitterly about the damage to me by the NHS and the dishonest and inadequate Complaints Procedure, I would have been excluded from giving any details to the Commons Health Select Committee, if I had not recently joined SIN." mr

"...It is good that you got as far as "Woman's Hour", of course, but the "impartial" attitude of the interviewer was terrible, I thought. She allowed the bureaucrat to waffle on about fairness and so forth as though it were not blatantly obvious that any system that provides an essential service is bound to be absolutely corrupt, if, when they fail to provide the service, the people who are supposed to have done so are allowed to be in judgement on themselves......
"...it goes without saying that it is totally unsatisfactory for patients to have to complain to the professional chums of the people at fault! Quite apart from the fact that they are very interested parties,( the good name of the profession is at stake), it means that the knowledge that the particualr patient has complained can lead to them being denied the essential service in the future. And who is going to monitor whether or not that happens?!...
"....because the "professionals" are allowed to pose as not only the providers of expertise, but by definition "impartial" simply because they are "professional", they can easily use confidential meetings to reduce the already insulted and humiliated complainant to psychological exhaustion. If a Complaint Procedure has several levels, they are always allowed to maintain that it doesn't matter how badly they behave, because there is always somebody else to sort things out.....
"... it is totally unacceptable for any profession to declare themselves  impartial, and to use that pose to imply, that while it is very likley that a complainant is lying, anything a "professional" says is obviously the truth....." cd

"You may be interested to learn that when our son died, his GP in New Zealand took it upon himself to discuss his health with some of his patients. They were told of fictitious medical difficulties within the family, all of which were untrue, further this man had never met or had access to any of the family medical records....
We took this matter the the NZ medical Advocacy Service. They had procured an apology from the doctor, ( and all free of charge) they are pursuing the matter further as this  doctor has violated the NZ privacy laws, but then their Patient's Charter is embodied in law, whilst ours is a toothless wonder, a mere whitewash system that in my opinion, works in the interests of the medical profession." ajb
[British policy makers please take note of the above! According to the Memorandum responding to the Sixth Report of the Health Select Committee [1998 - 1999 Session] on Procedures Relating to Adverse Clinical Incidents and Outcomes in Medical care  : "Work is in hand to produce a new Patient's Charter, which will help patients to make the most of the NHS, and will include information about how to make a complaint if things go wrong"]

"...Over the last nine years we cannot find the words to describe how bent and corrupt some human beings we have encountered can be, trying to evade the truth and avoiding  justice in the case of seriously injuring my spouse ......"    ds

" I have just had the 'pleasure' of reading my medical records - after a while I had to stop as it was very distressing and has seriously damaged my my self-confidence. What can any of us do?" hj

"....I am also concerned regarding the waste of time and tax-payers money , when the medical system covers up the mistakes of doctors, consultants......I wish there were  Inspectorates for what is taught to students in all aspects of medicine  ie doctors, nurses, radiographers, physiotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists....that all students are taught about the fear patients have, of being ill and coming to hospital; different  conditions cause different fear levels....."   ma
 
 

"NO ACCOUNTABILITY , PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH!! "

"NO ACCOUNTABILITY, PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH" 

Nobody put their hand out,
Nobody took a bribe,
Nobody was compromised 
By acts you could describe.
Nobody got away with it,
Nobody thought they could,
And all of them were honest men,
And all of them were good.
Nobody bought a cabinet,
Whatever you may hear,
And all of them were honest men,
And all were in the clear.
Nobody did a secret deal,
Nobody was for sale,
Nobody bent the rules at all,
And nobody went to jail.
And all of them were honest men,
As white as driven snow,
And all lived on a higher plane,
And spat on those below.

    {There seems to be some doubt as to the verb used in the last line}

SIN believes that many members of the general public are tired of so called "Independent Inquiries" which find no one accountable and only that "lessons will be learnt". Actually, if people had been doing their jobs properly in the first place,most of  these "lessons" would not need to be learnt, they would already be in operation!

SIN suggests that Britain is drowning and choking under a deluge of "couched" language and torrents of whitewash. At the end of the day, as SIN stated in the  penultimate Section 10  para 10.11 under the heading "Removal of Professional Allegiance", in SIN's Paper "The Patient's Voice For Equity", requested by the BRI Inquiry and submitted in July 2000.:

"Whilst team training and effort is all well and good, the team is only as good as its leader and at the end of the day, individual responsibility is a moral obligation"

First comments on this Inquiry appeared on this web site : 1st. May, 2001
To be updated.