MP threatened with legal action by NHS trust airs concerns in Commons

[Northerner]

A Conservative MP threatened with legal action by the head of an NHS trust was forced to turn to Parliamentary privilege for protection to raise concerns over the deaths of two patients.

Steve Baker was given legal advice that Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust could be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter after an elderly patient who should not have been on solids died after being given the wrong food.
But he said when he told the trust?s chief executive Anne Eden he intended to raise the prospect of charges in a radio interview, she told him that legal action would be sought to protect the trust's reputation.
"This is a matter of public interest being raised by a Member of Parliament in good faith,? he told the Commons.
?But I have had to rely on (Parliamentary) privilege to protect myself from being sued on this matter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9...on-by-NHS-trust-airs-concerns-in-Commons.html

 

[trophywench]

Well she clearly hasn't got her head round the fact that you can't gag people when they don't work for you, has she?

And unless he actually told lies, or intended them to suffer hardship by 'maliciously' saying whatever it was, how could they bring legal action anyway? Unclear under exactly what circumstances he was going to mention it. But sounds to me like he was just being polite in mentioning it to her. And quite potty on her part because both the facts of the matter itself and that she had threatened him - would be stated in Parliament and would at least be in ruddy Hansard if it didn't make the paper.

She's probably now got at least as much egg on her face if not more, than she would have had, if he had made the statement on the flipping radio in the first place.

You know, the coroner had already publicly stated that the first chap died (at that particular time as opposed to whenever) because he was fed solids. End of story. Proven Fact.

And most hospitals make cock-ups sometimes as in every walk of life, To err is human etc. It isn't headline news. Unless someone makes it so, and that is down to the CEO not the MP in this case.