13 February 2004
Ian Perkin, a former hospital finance director at St George's Hospital Trust in London and self-declared whistle-blower, said he would 'never again' encourage NHS staff to report irregular management practices – because the system works to simply 'brush problems under the carpet'.
Perkin was ousted from St George's in December 2002 for, he claims, reporting that hospital operation cancellation statistics had been fiddled and for exposing the trust's precarious financial position.
His employers, however, argued that he was dismissed because of his 'disruptive management style'.
Perkin challenged his dismissal and last week an employment tribunal found that while he was 'unfairly dismissed', it was not for exposing wrongdoing but because the hospital had not followed the correct procedures.
Perkin told Public Finance he intends to appeal and warned: 'My message is clear: don't blow the whistle, even if you think it is the right thing to do. This whole incident has shattered my naïve belief that justice can be done when people expose wrongdoings.'
PFfeb2004
