Duty of Candour/Robbie's Law

posted on 20 December 2009 | posted in Personal Blogs

Robbie Powell was 10 years old when he died. He would have been 30 years old, 29th December 2009.

Robbie's Law asks for a legal 'Duty of Candour' from NHS Medical Staff.

PLEASE GET YOUR M.P. TO SIGN THE EDM (Early Day Motion) 1163 which is calling for a 'Duty of Candour' and let's get the NHS to be more honest and open especially when they have made a NHS mistake or error.

'Robbie's Law" will help everyone who has the misfortune of suffering from an NHS medical mistake, to establish the TRUTH.

In 1999 Will and Diane Powell were presented with a 'Freedom of Information Award" by the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, for their determination to challenge official secrecy!
Click here to read about the presentation of the 'Freedom of Information Award given to Will and Diane by Jack Straw!

Click here to go to the petition to sign for a legal 'Duty of Candour" - Robbie's Law. Thankyou.

'Robbie's Law" would be a deterrent for dishonesty and would give complainants redress if the medical profession attempted to cover up medical errors.

Please note you are not supporting Robbie's case or otherwise by signing the petition but are in effect helping to change a current culture within the NHS of dishonesty and cover up following medical errors.
It should be our fundamental right in a purported democratic country to honesty and openness when things go wrong within the NHS.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that in Britain 'doctors do not have to tell the truth or refrain from deliberately falsifying medical records' - implying that they can falsify records without worry. Such a judgment seems incredible - yet the fact is, unlike doctors throughout Europe, there is no duty of candour for British doctors.

'This is something few people realise - and yet far too many have experienced it,' says Peter Walsh of the pressure group Action Against Medical Accidents.

It's because the medical profession are NOT legally obliged to tell the truth that they choose not to and the NHS is therefore given a license by the government to fabricate evidence following a medical mistake

Until doctors have a legal duty to tell the truth following an adverse clinical incident the NHS complaint procedures and medical negligence litigation will be critically compromised.

In Robbie Powell's case (1990), the senior medical secretary at the health centre was asked to type a referral letter to the NHS Hospital AFTER Robbie's death on the instructions of the GP.
After doing so the secretary back-dated the letter to five days BEFORE Robbie's death!!!

If you would like to know more about Robbie's case please follow the link below:

Click here to know more about Robbie Powell's case.

Thank you.

Will Powell

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