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From: Do Not Reply Date: 20 February 2016 at 00:31:20 GMT+8 Subject: Your Correspondence To Michael Gove and Theresa May

The document is a response from the Department of Health to concerns raised by a family about the investigation into events at Gosport War Memorial Hospital and the death of their mother. It acknowledges the family's distress and refers them to contact the independent Gosport Panel investigation for any concerns they want addressed. It also outlines actions the government is taking to improve transparency, accountability and learning from failures in the NHS, including reports on culture change and improving safety.

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86 views2 pages

From: Do Not Reply Date: 20 February 2016 at 00:31:20 GMT+8 Subject: Your Correspondence To Michael Gove and Theresa May

The document is a response from the Department of Health to concerns raised by a family about the investigation into events at Gosport War Memorial Hospital and the death of their mother. It acknowledges the family's distress and refers them to contact the independent Gosport Panel investigation for any concerns they want addressed. It also outlines actions the government is taking to improve transparency, accountability and learning from failures in the NHS, including reports on culture change and improving safety.

Uploaded by

api-247797560
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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From: Do Not Reply <[email protected].

uk>
Date: 20 February 2016 at 00:31:20 GMT+8
Subject: your correspondence to Michael Gove and Theresa
May
Our ref: DE00000965806
Dear Mr and Mrs Reeves,
Thank you for your correspondence of 13 October to Michael Gove and
19 December to Theresa May about the investigation of events at
Gosport War Memorial Hospital. As your concerns relate to healthcare,
your email has been passed to the Department of Health. I have been
asked to reply and I apologise for the long delay in doing so.
I was very sorry to read of your concerns about Mrs Devines death. I
can appreciate how distressing this must have been for your family,
particularly since you do not feel that your concerns have been fully
investigated.
I understand your wish to seek further advice about these upsetting
matters. As you will be aware, the question of any potential criminal
proceedings relating to your mother's death does not fall within the
Department of Health's remit. However, I hope that the following
information reassures you that ministers are committed to learning
lessons from public inquiries and ensure that patient safety improves as
a result.
Ministers are determined that the NHS does all it can to listen to and
learn from patients and their families, particularly when things go
wrong. The Department is therefore grateful that you have provided a
detailed description of your concerns despite the distress that recalling
these events may have caused.
As you will be aware, the Gosport Independent Panel is an independent
investigation chaired by Bishop James Jones. The Department would
encourage you to contact the Panel about any concerns that you would
like the Investigation to address and to send your letter to the Panel, as
it might be useful information to the Investigation. The contact details
are:
Gosport Independent Panel 7th Floor North Wing Wellington House
133-155 Waterloo Road London SE1 8UG
Email: [email protected] Enquiries line: 0207
972 4212
Ministers remain committed to ensuring greater transparency in the
NHS. The Governments response to the public inquiry into the
shocking events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which was

published on 19 November 2013, set out a comprehensive plan to build


a future that learns the lessons from the failings of the past. The
response for the first time faces up to the hard truths about the NHS,
and seeks to build an open culture where organisations learn from
mistakes, hold people properly to account when that is the right thing to
do, and, above all, shape a culture in which the NHS hears and
genuinely responds to what patients are saying about their care.
You can find a copy of the response, Hard Truths: The Journey to
Putting Patients First, at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mid-staffordshire-nhs-ftpublic-inquiry-government-response
Hard Truths also includes the Governments responses to five expert
independent reports on patient safety, complaints, bureaucratic
burdens, healthcare support workers, and NHS trusts with the worst
mortality rates.
In addition, Professor Sir Mike Richards was appointed to a powerful
role as Chief Inspector of Hospitals. The Chief Inspector acts as the
nations whistleblower on poor care, using in-depth on the ground
inspection by experts and patients to reveal unacceptable practice and
insist on rapid action to ensure improvements.
The Government has most recently set out the progress made in
learning from the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in
its report 'Culture Change in the NHS'. This is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/culture-change-in-the-nhs
On 16 July 2015 Learning not blaming The government response to
the Freedom to Speak Up consultation, the Public Administration Select
Committee report Investigating Clinical Incidents in the NHS, and the
Morecambe Bay Investigation was published. It is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jeremy-hunt-announces-newmeasures-to-improve-safety-across-nhs
It sets out the Governments full response to each of the three reports
and, in a separate document, Lord Roses report on NHS leadership.
Themes common to each report include the importance of:
- openness, honesty and candour; - listening to patients, families and
staff; - finding and facing the truth; - learning from errors and failures in
care; and - people and professionalism.
I am once again very sorry for your loss and for the long delay in
replying. I hope this response is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries Department of Health

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