Health Trust letter regarding documentary

Staff working at the Pennine Acute Trust have been sent a letter by the Chief Executive, John Saxby, regarding a Channel 4 Dispatches programme due to be aired on Monday (11 April 2011).

The Trust runs the Rochdale Infirmary, the Royal Oldham Hospital, the Fairfield Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital.

Staff were told that a TV production company called October Films are producing a one-hour documentary programme for Channel 4 Dispatches current affairs series.

A full copy of the letter can be read here:

Dear colleague,

On Thursday the 31st March 2011 I received a letter from October Films. They advised that it is producing a documentary for Channel 4’s Dispatches Programme to be broadcast on Monday 11th April at 8:00 pm.

During the making of this programme, unknown to the Trust, two undercover reporters, one Sarah Collinson, posing as a Trust volunteer, and one Karim Shah, posing as a Bank Porter, had covertly filmed and recorded aspects of patient care and hospital life including conversations with and between members of staff between 13 December 2010 and 4 March 2011. We do not know what they filmed or recorded because the company has, to date, not shown us any of the footage.

The company state: “The documentary examines some of the current pressures facing hospitals such as the drive to meet targets, high bed occupancy and how these factors impact on patient care and in particular the care of the Elderly”.

The letter contains four allegations about patient care at North Manchester General Hospital. The case notes of the four patients concerned have been thoroughly reviewed. It has been established that one of the allegations is without any foundation. The company has accepted this and agreed that footage of that allegation will not be shown. In each of the three other cases the Clinical Management Plan of the patients is well recorded, is of a uniformly high standard and shows that the care of these patients was in accordance with the Clinical Management Plan.

The other issues in the letter related to NHS contract penalties and incentives, operation cancellations, arrangements for PEAT inspections and pressures facing NHS staff during the winter.

The Trust invited the programme producer, reporter and film crew to visit the hospital on Thursday 7th April 2011. During a one hour pre-meeting with the producer the issues in the letter were fully discussed and arrangements were then made to visit the North Manchester General Hospital A&E and MAU Departments to respond to the issues covered in the letter.

After about 3 minutes of a roving interview on the way from A&E to MAU the reporter made an allegation about patient care at NMGH that was so serious that I suspended the interview and met the producer again to question why this allegation had neither been contained in the letter, nor mentioned in the one hour pre-meeting. No satisfactory answer was given and on this basis all filming was cancelled. Despite requests, the Trust has still not been shown any of the footage or recording. The serious allegation has been investigated and is without foundation and the company will be advised of that.

The producer assured the Trust that they had spoken either with the patients or the relatives of patients mentioned in the allegations. Trust staff have now spoken either with the patients or their relatives to advise them of the filming and of their possible inclusion. Only one relative has confirmed that any conversation has so far taken place with the company. The Trust has taken legal advice to protect the interests of its patients and staff.

John Saxby

Chief Executive

8 April 2011