A physician who was fired for raising patient safety concerns has prevailed against the Care Quality Commission, England’s hospital regulator (CQC).
Shyam Kumar, an orthopedic physician, worked part-time as a special adviser on hospital inspections for the CQC, but the Manchester Employment Tribunal ruled that he was unfairly terminated.
He had highlighted concerns over insufficient hospital inspections, staff bullying, and grave patient injury.
The CQC “agreed with the results.”
Mr. Kumar, who has been compensated, asserts that his concerns were disregarded.
Instead of focusing on improving patient safety and carrying out its regulatory responsibilities, a small number of CQC employees devoted all of their efforts to eliminate him.
‘Inappropriate’ operations
From 2015 until his removal in 2019, Mr. Kumar emailed senior CQC colleagues with several grave concerns.
During a hospital inspection, he argues that patient safety was substantially affected when a group of doctors who had concerns was barred from discussing them.
Mr. Kumar stated that he had repeatedly reported concerns about a surgeon at his trust, Morecambe Bay, who had performed “inappropriate” and “awful” procedures and damaged patients.
He informed the CQC that the management of the trust intended to “sweep everything under the rug.” The tribunal noted that his concerns were found to be justified, and the surgeon’s license to practice was eventually restricted.
Tim Holloway, the CQC’s attorney, told Mr. Kumar at a previous hearing in Manchester that his claim that the regulator had ignored his concerns was “fanciful.”
Mr. Kumar said: “Within the CQC, I was perceived as a troublemaker or a thorn in their side. I hold this belief. And they simply disregarded it. And finally, people were engaged “he stated.
The tribunal’s ruling confirmed that Mr. Kumar’s firing was substantially influenced by the safety concerns he highlighted.
“It is abundantly obvious that Mr. Kumar’s communications and concerns had a significant impact on the decision to dismiss him,” the report stated.
Mr. Kumar is relieved by the verdict and states, “From a personal standpoint, I feel vindicated.”
The CQC declared: “We accept the verdict and have learned from this experience. Many of our processes have already been enhanced, and we will continue to review them based on the findings to ensure that we make any additional necessary adjustments.”
