Chief Minister admits ‘turmoil’ at Health
Wednesday 26th May 2010, 3:00PM BST.
Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur and Chris Hannah, of consultants Goodwin Hannah, at the press conference. Picture: David Ferguson
MANAGEMENT failures at the Hospital led to the taxpayer picking up a £1 million bill for the three-year suspension of a senior consultant, the Chief Minister has admitted.
Senator Terry Le Sueur made the admission as UK consultants Goodwin Hannah released their report into the management of the suspension of consultant gynaecologist John Day.
Speaking at a press conference last night, Senator Le Sueur said that Health had been in ‘some sort of turmoil’.
‘The suspension process was not applied as well as it should have been,’ he said. ‘One doesn’t always think as clearly as one ought to and it could be said to be a failure of management. But I think it has to be put into the context of a highly unusual and emotional case.’
The report concluded that the doctor’s immediate suspension was reasonable in the circumstances, but that he was excluded from work for too long and should have been back at work sooner.
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We should have sacked the Minister of Health and Social Services for costing the island so much money and failing to communicate to his “staff”
Ahh but it’s Syvret – so busy complaining about everyone else on his blog and not keeping his own house in order.
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How much more has it cost the taxpayer to have the UK consultants tell us what anyone with even the slightest commonsense already knew?
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One life destroyed, lots of money wasted and not one person responsible dismissed!!! Well, lessons have been learned! Banana republic! Hope Mr Day claims compensation.
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Can they do/get anything right???….More cost to the taxpayers yet again…who is actually running this island????? A bunch of cowboys with no brains between them…seriously get a grip. Think harder and work smarter…and things might be achievable.
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The stunning thing is that like the failure to hedge the incinerator nothing much will be done about it all and things will roll on much as they are until the next mindblowing disaster while us mugs in the cheap seats pay for the fiasco.
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And we have to make cuts!!!
another million squid disappeared due to these incompetents.
What about the euro problem have they bought/sold lately to try & recover some of that loss?
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“One doesn’t always think as clearly as one ought to and it could be said to be a failure of management”. Story of the COM really, this failure of management by the states is being repeated over and over again and they are more than happy to make the general public, and public sector workers pay. 3 year suspension with a £1 million bill, say’s it all really. TLS and the COM should be ashamed of their repeated missmanagement
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Well would you believe it… the “conspiracy theorists” were right all along.
So who actually is accountable for the million quid suspension cost – and does that include the truck load of money paid for consultancy fees, or is that an extra?
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Why do heads never roll for foul ups like this? I need to get me a States job where I can get away with anything!
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To Pip Clement
I assume you are a very successful currency trader, as you clearly knew the pound was going to fall against the Euro in advance. I assume you made a small fortune on your currency trades. You must also have gone short on the Euro against the Dollar over the last few months as well and made another fortune?
If not perhaps that is because it is very easy with hindsight to say they should have hedged but what if the currency swing went the other way and it cost the taxpayer money. I assume you would say they should never have hedged.
Unless you advise in advance why should you using hindsight make a call over someone’s job?
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cathy @1 Ho dear…there’s none so blind as those that WILL NOT SEE!!
Another admission of failure and resultant huge cost to our community. Another set of excuses, special circumstances, mediating factors, another case of NO ONE’S TO BLAME. Just wait till the facts and costs surrounding the gardening leave of our chief of police Mr Power emerge.It just gose on and on.I’m just waiting for the “lessons will be learned” bit….should be the State’s motto.
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The Chief Minister does not look very comfortable in the picture posted.
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No one ever publicly apologises….often as they have neither the social conscience or plain respect and manners..plus the awful tendency to run to and be advised by unnescessary and well overpriced lawyers and consultants for an opinion thus avoiding their responsibilities and never having to nail their colors to the mast”Oh no don’t apologise for events as it may acknowledge some kind of responsibility”, well you ARE supposed to be responsible ,that’s part of the job..imagine in the private sector,”Err excuse me boss I have been charged with a project which I have no confidence about and even less ability to accomplish,can You please pay for a team of experts to fly in to advise me,stay at The L’Horizon while they work and have a hire car thrown in you’ll be paying bigtime of course..meanwhile I’ll strum a few tunes,play a few rounds of golf,and when they’ve finished, I’ll present it to you… whadyareckon…!can’t go wrong for if it turns out crap it wasn’t me…Ha Ha… we pay civil servants vast amounts of money to be administrators and the like ,they take all the perks and fat wages and never any responsibility, as soon as a challenge comes along that they are being paid to field.Stop down tools and laptops and let’s commission some private experts from the outside,so they have to charge us huge amounts just becoming familiarised with the local set up and conditions or get in the lawyers just in case.these people are taking money under false pretences as far as I’m concerned and why we need a complete weed out.Gerard Baudains was just in the process of doing so before his time was up…for that alone I hope he gets in again…and the current health minister limply trots out on the radio…”Well it was an emotional and stressful time”Boo flippin Hoo…three years much pain and over a Million pounds of our money….Not Acceptable.
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‘If not perhaps that is because it is very easy with hindsight to say they should have hedged but what if the currency swing went the other way and it cost the taxpayer money. I assume you would say they should never have hedged.’
Actually that is not the issue at all. Terry le Sueur in his position as Treasury Minister made an explicit promise to the States that the contract would be hedged during the debate on the incinerator contract.
It has never been explained why this promise was not carried out.
The fact is that the States in general and the CoM in particular are long on promises; Millenium Park, permanent track for the kart club when Bellevue was closed, electoral reform, fast Internet, a police authority, and pipe dreams; bridge to France, barrage across St Aubins Bay and more beside with a never in a hundred years scheme in the Post every month at least but very short on actually doing anything.
The main role of the CoM is obfuscation, evasion and hoping that any unpleasant facts will go away.
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Tom#10 – The States approved the incinerator upon the understanding that any currency dealings would be hedged.
If this would have been ‘overlooked’ in the Private sector, i.e. hedging was not done despite the instruction of the board of directors, those responsible would have been thrown out on their ear and, indeed, they would have accepted their fate.
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Can someone please explain to me why Mike Pollard really resigned so quickly,ahead of this report,without any thanks for his time in office.?
And what was his pay off and cost to the tax payer.? H&SS senior management have alot to answer for re the possible destruction of someone’s reputation to save their own skin.
Also as the Chief Officer for the States of Jersey why has no finger been pointed at Mr.Ogley who is accountable for the performance of other Chief Officers and gets a hefty salary to go with it.
Mr.Ogley keeps a very low profile but should be answerable for the mess Jersey is in.So much for Frank walker’s appointment process and Simple,Cheaper,Better concept.!
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Okay so mistakes were made with this one, what about Graham Power and Ian Christmas. Are they suspended on full pay under a different procedure? They want to cutjobs, start at the top and get rid of all the managers, assistant managers, etc. etc. etc.
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Surely it would not be too much to have to courtesy to give a sincere and genuine apology to Mr Day Terry le Sueur or Anne Pryke??
A disgrace.
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To Pip and Gary
I am unsure were you get the idea they guaranteed currency would be hedged? If this is true could you let me know where this guarantee was made perhaps a let me have a link to the minutes from the states showing this?
Thanks
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Truthseeker-spot on.But who has the brains and insight to sort out this mess?No matter who trots out the usual “Lessons have been learned”.Yes it is a failure of Management as Terry Le Sueur says but what is he going to do about?Over to you Terry.
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You would expect wouldn’t you, that following such a damning report, after a previous damning report about the appalling treatment of John Day, a well respected, excellent surgeon whose reputation was so sullied, that the Health Minister would issue an unreserved apology, and take appropriate action against those who orchestrated this scapegoating? Well you would wouldn’t you? After all it is only natural and proper justice.
Well judge for yourself, this is the letter that was circulated to all staff at HSSD this afternoon from the Minister
“Dear all
I think it is important for me to send out a message of support to all HSSD staff following what has been a testing time for the department in the media recently.
It is never easy when your department is in the media spotlight for a negative reason, and since January, following the Verita Report, the Serious Case Review and the recent Exclusion Review, the department has attracted much media attention, which is testing for morale, even for those not connected to any of the reports.
My thoughts are with all the hard working staff at HSSD, who, in a variety of roles, are dedicated to the work they do.
I continue to be proud to be the Minister for HSSD and want to reassure all staff that you have my support.
Thank you,
Anne
Deputy Anne Pryke
Heath and Social Services Minister”
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‘I am unsure where you get the idea they guaranteed currency would be hedged? If this is true could you let me know where this guarantee was made perhaps a let me have a link to the minutes from the states showing this?’
I suggest that you learn to use the search engine on this site and on the States site.
Terry le Sueur’s pledge is reported in the original debate and in the JEP’s report on the investigation after the loss.
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tom 10.
To Pip Clement
Re: “I assume you are a very successful currency trader, as you clearly knew the pound was going to fall against the Euro in advance. I assume you made a small fortune on your currency trades. You must also have gone short on the Euro against the Dollar over the last few months as well and made another fortune?”
I’m not a currency trader, however, I am a keen observer of currency trends. My interest in these “trends” has paid off nicely and I’ve made a small fortune over the last few years!
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teresa 3.
Re: Hope Mr Day claims compensation.
For what?
As far as I remember:
Under cross-examination, Professor Patrick Forbes said that he thought Mr Day had exercised ‘bad management and poor practice’ for not announcing the arrival of Dr Moyano when she took up the locum post on 14 August 2006, and for failing to reassure duty consultants that he had taken adequate steps to check that she was suitably qualified for the position.
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Well there’s the million the teachers could have had then no strike!
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Gross Misconduct # 21 Is it Deputy Anne Pryke’s place to apologise for the actions of one of her predecessors? (Now who was the Minister in October 2006 when Mr. Day was suspended?
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We can add that to the 100 million spent on the hideous new incinerator at Havre des Pas which would affect anyone’s health if they looked at it for long enough.
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#24 “Hope Mr Day claims compensation”
I don’t, because we would be paying for it! And what would the compensation be for? Remember, he was paid while suspended.
The only people that should get compensation is us (the taxpayer) for our taxes being wasted due to the incompentence of a handful of people.
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Once again the general public lose out, the reputation of yet another good man has been sullied, Mr. John Day was a highly respected surgeon, and a gentleman, for over three years we were denied his skills, and how much, does anyone know has been paid to locums?
This is what happens when the type of person you would hesitate to organise a “car boot sale” are in charge.
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Where can I get myself one of these three year states suspensions. Sounds rather good.
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“Well that’s another fine mess… etc etc” 3 years on FULL PAY!? Oh come on, where else would/does this happen?!
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26 Blue Knight… I think your refering to the guy who went to the Police and handed himself in for corporate manslaughter.. you know, the one person who actually DID hold his hands up and say ‘Ok, I’m in charge, my fault.’
Funny how no one else will dare to admit any responsibility…
Wonder who that bloke was and whatever happened to him…
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RE Pryke letter to staff.
Yes we know all the staff are hardworking & dedicated, its a disgrace the senior management do not have the same qualities.
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All this at a time we are being told to tighten our belts?? What’s another mil when it’s not your money? just hard-earned tax ‘dollars’.
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wait till you hear the truth about the latest £12million Health project that youre all wasting your money on………
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simples
what do you mean – wait till you hear the truth about the latest £12million Health project that youre all wasting your money on ?
Tell more
I know the press and the public will not hear it from Pryke – I am afraid that she does’nt know what day of the week it is, that is unless someone tells her !!
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I am wondering what has happened to the vast store of Tamiflu and vaccine?
Ages since we heard about that, maybe it is time for a question in the States
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These are two who really need to go,I am surprised there has not been a vote of no confidence bought already,Ann Pryke..nice woman maybe but woefully out of her league..as is T.Le Sueur,Social fund,Euro debacle etc..but worst of all and glaringly undemocratic is his rigid and intractable Dictatorial attitude which has to go with him..G.S.T. he said “I don’t care if 100,000 people vote against it,we’re having it” a nice little democratic hummer,but was he satisfied with that clanger…Oh no not him, last nights post He claims the people of Jersey should not decide what kind of Government they should have… No referendum.!Hello…! his gang have made a total botch,and now want to hang on to power..well you’d better get with the programme Terrry your situation is no longer tenable..we the public have believed we have a democracy…it is now a very dangerous situation…and I may remind you that you are not King and this Emperor of your own imagination state of mind got many leaders in history beheaded,literally or metaphorically..just because you think they’re out to get you..doesn’t mean they’re not…
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Truthseeker – I totally disagree with your comments about Anne Pryke.
She may not shout the loudest, or stamp her foot the hardest but she is one of the politicians doing what she was elected to do.
She has had a horrendous mess to sort out from previous Ministerial and Management blunders and I think she is quietly and stoically moving forward in the right direction.
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@38 Truthseeker
Why am I reminded of King Canute whenever I read\hear Comical Terry spout off such statements as ‘no recession here’, ‘GST, we are having it’ et al.
The man is living in an Egyptian river.
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There are too many head nodders in the States for a vote of no confidence to go through.
It was a miracle that Jim Perchard was forced to resign.
It was only that his remarks were so unpleasant that they threatened to bring the whole chamber in to disrepute that he went in the end.
My money is on Terry le Sueur not standing again and Phillip Ozouf taking the top post next year.
He is a man with a political agenda and I think he would like to change things, unlike Frank Walker and Terry le Sueur who have been effectively dead hands on the tiller, but I doubt he will as the conservatives in an extremely hide bound house will achieve their only political objective which is keeping things the same.
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@Tony Gallichan
Unfortunately Blue Knight has a fixation with trying to squeeze in a dig at Syvret on any given thread. Not bad really from a guy who doesn’t even live in Jersey so can’t vote here.
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SO much for the Stuart Syvret legacy after years of being in charge then.
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Any other mud you’d like to sling, Paul?
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Paul 43 –
Please refer to #32.
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