Here’s Dr Raj Mattu’s first disclosure on 1/7/2000 to chief executive David Loughton about the death of his patient on 21/12/1999 which he had raised concerns about but the Walsgrave board had ignored
It got no response, despite its clear implication of patient harm and ongoing risk to patients. So he wrote again, on 27/4/2001. The letter makes extremely serious allegations requiring urgent investigation
Again, Mattu gets no response. However, a cursory review is carried out two years later that doesn’t interview Dr Mattu or any of the staff. It is still damning of the trust.
In 1999, whistleblowing surgeon Alban Barros D’Sa was suspended from the Walsgrave for raising concerns about high death rates for colorectal cancer surgery.
In 2001, the Walsgrave (now UHWC) was found to have the highest death rates in the NHS for heart bypass surgery, more than double the national average.
In 2001, the Walsgrave received a damning ‘zero star’ inspection report from the Commission for Health Improvement, and was particularly critical of the practice of cramming 5 patients into 4- bedded bays.
Loughton resigned in 2002, was given a plumb job as CEO in Wolverhampton and a CBE for services to the NHS. Raj Mattu stayed in Coventry, tried to expose the cover up and patient harm, suffered appalling victimisation and will never work as a consultant again.