There was a feature on BBC London TV on Thursday at 6.30 pm, in which
Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone repeated criticisms of the Trust
around our handling of the death of Peter Connelly, and called for Dr
Jane Collins to resign.
The following statement was used in full on the programme.
A
spokesperson said "Great Ormond Street Hospital has repeatedly
apologised for any failings in the care of Peter Connelly. When a child
dies, learning the lessons is the first priority and, with hindsight,
there are things that we could have done differently. We are, however,
absolutely clear that we never sought to mislead any inquiry into his
tragic death."
The Chair of the Trust Baroness Tessa Blackstone
said “"The Trust Board has complete confidence in Dr Collins, she is a
first class CEO. As a Board, we have confidence that the Trust has
never sought to mislead any inquiry into the death of a child. The non
executive directors have met Ms Featherstone to discuss her concerns
with her. We did not accept her views.”
The NHS in London has strongly defended the Trust.
Ruth Carnall, Chief Executive of NHS London said:
“Great
Ormond Street is known around the world for the life-saving care it
provides to some of our most seriously ill children. Much of this work
goes unreported but be assured that there are thousands of children who
would not be here were it not for the trust. This could not been
achieved without doctors and nurses of the highest calibre and the
exceptional leadership of their Chief Executive, Dr Jane Collins. Dr
Collins and her team are widely respected within the trust and the
wider NHS and she continues to have our absolute full support.
“We
have all been deeply affected by the tragic death of Baby Peter. This
serious case has been investigated in full and the reports made public –
including the Sibert report. We must take every lesson learned from
Peter’s death to protect the most vulnerable in our care. Earlier this
year (February 2011), the Care Quality Commission and Ofsted published a
report showing there had been ‘significant and sustained improvement’
in the services to safeguard children in Haringey. We are also holding
commissioners and NHS organisations across the capital to account to
ensure all reasonable measures are taken to protect vulnerable
children.”
Ends
Contact information:
GOSH-ICH Press Office: 020 7239 3125
Email: Coxs@gosh.nhs.uk
For genuine and urgent out of hours call speak to switchboard on 020 7405 9200
