NHS COVERUP

Labour faces allegations of trying to undermine the independence of the National Audit Office after it successfully toned down the findings of an inquiry into the 12 billion pound NHS computer system. Documents released last week show how key passages in the NAO report were changed after interventions by Department of Health officials. These included removing warnings about the difficulties of creating computerised records for every patient in the country. The Connecting for Health scheme is intended to create centralised medical record systems for 50m patients. Critics fear it could threaten patient confidentiality and make the NHS more vulnerable to damage from computer failures.

The NAO report on the scheme, published in June, was welcomed by NHS officials for its broad support of the programme. However, a draft of the report, dated January 26, 2006 and obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act, warned of potential problems. It said: The Department of Health had failed to demonstrate "clear and effective leadership" to staff implementing the programme.

NHS workers were worried "the confidentiality of patient information may be at risk". The NHS lacked sufficient skills to support the delivery of the programme. Although there had been "substantial progress", the programme faced "significant challenges".

When the report was published six month later, the warning over departmental leadership had been removed; the paragraph highlighting doctors' worries over confidentiality was also missing and the claim that the NHS did not have the required skills to deliver the programme had been dropped.

Instead, headings of the report were changed which gave more emphasis to what the project "has achieved". Even the projected costs of the programme were cut from œ13.4 billion in the draft report to œ12.4 billion in the final version. The key conclusion on the challenges was unchanged. One source who has worked closely with the NAO said: "It's pretty clear the NAO were bullied into changing this report."

An NAO spokesman said: "Like any report it went through a process to ensure the presentation was fair and the facts were accurate. The overall conclusions are the same in the final report as in the provisional report. The œ1 billion fall in cost followed new information."

The health department said: "We co-operated fully with the NAO to ensure the publication of a balanced and accurate report."

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Another crooked overseas doctor found in a Queensland government hospital

Labor was embroiled in a new health scandal with revelations that a grandmother died after an overseas-trained doctor failed to treat her properly. Lillian Shaw, 67, died last year in Lowood, west of Ipswich, after Indian-trained GP Dr Jaideep Bali failed to diagnose a perforated stomach ulcer despite visiting her three times in 36 hours. A coronial inquest also found Dr Bali had given the mother-of-seven a potentially fatal injection of morphine 2® hours before she died, and later tried to cover it up.

Mrs Shaw's family and the Coalition yesterday said the Beattie Government had to share responsibility for the tragedy. "It's another Dr Death," said Mrs Shaw's son Karhl Earnshaw. "It goes all the way up to the Beattie Government and the Health Minister. "To say we are furious would be an understatement. If you knew the agony we've been through over the last 18 months . . ."

Mrs Shaw died on the evening of January 13, 2005, two days after she began suffering abdominal pain and vomiting. She was visited at her home in Lowood three times in 36 hours by Dr Bali, a GP from the Lowood Medical Centre. Mrs Shaw's husband, Ian - described by the coroner as "an impressive and intelligent witness" - said the doctor did not examine his wife during any of the visits.

The inquest heard that Dr Bali did not make any record of having administered morphine during his last house call and continued to tell Mrs Shaw's family for some months that he had not done so.

Coroner Matthew McLaughlin concluded that Dr Bali was not a reliable witness and said he strongly suspected the GP had "deliberately been untruthful" and, initially at least, did his best to conceal the fact he had given Mrs Shaw morphine.

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said tragedies such as Mrs Shaw's death were "the Beattie Government's real record on health". He said: "The Government has run the health system down so much they have driven away Australian-trained doctors and are desperate to fill the void by giving substandard people licences to practise." Health Minister Stephen Robertson said he had directed Queensland Health to forward the coroner's report to the Medical Board for immediate assessment.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?

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