Bulldogs without teeth

I knew when I made all the complaints to Barts Trust that it was a useless exercise-so I expected nothing, and nothing was what I got. PALS, the patient advice and liaison service, did nothing. I emailed them, then went to complain in person, and they were terribly shocked-but it was all lip service. They didn't get back to me, and in real terms, they have no power whatsoever. But there is a hierarchy when it comes to making complaints, so I followed the rules, even though they are a waste of time and a crock of shit. What can I say?

The General Medical Council wrote and told me that any unprofessional behavior on the part of a hospital doctor should be reported to the hospital complaints department. They won't handle anything unless a patient dies-and even then the next of kin need to prove negligence. As for the complaints department, I wrote to them when I wrote the complaint to PALS. Same result: all three departments are like toothless bulldogs: they have no power to do anything except back the doctors. They all stick together- like rats. Even the complaints people advised me that the very odious Matt Buckland was within his rights to refuse treatment-and if he was unprofessional, spiteful, vicious, immature-and ready and willing to put my life at risk-well, as they pointed out, nobody died.

I wasn't in the least bit surprised at this news-because Barts is notorious for hiring incompetent doctors, and has been sued on various occasions. Sadly, they don't have the ethics to admit wrongdoing, so it has always been difficult for the victims of malpractice.

Something is radically wrong with a system that rewards its incompetent specialists; something is radically wrong when unprofessional, spiteful, incompetent, unethical doctors can do whatever they want without being accountable to anyone. And the four I've been talking about are proof that some unscrupulous - no, evil, heinous - people are in it for the money, not to help anyone, because clearly they don't like their patients. If they did, they wouldn't cripple and nearly kill them, would they?

I think that Buckland, Grigoriadou, Bright and Longhurst are just out for as much money as they can get-and consultants do very nicely, thank you. They want the money, and the power over other people, and, of course, immunity from prosecution. My friend is looking at me while I am typing this, and said that I should also mention all the casual sex, too. Pardon? Casual sex? I've never heard of that one, but it probably exists somewhere. These four have no chance. Bright and Longhurst look like Mr. and Mrs. Potato-Head. Grigoriadou closely resembles a startled, demented wart-hog. And Buckland-well, he looks like a ringer for the Disney character "Goofy". Why on earth would anyone want to have sex with any of this lot-unless they are blind and senile, or so desperate they would only do so if they put a paper bag over their heads. On second thought, make that a plastic bag. It's one way of getting rid of them before they kill someone. Ewww-sex with the four cripplers? Ewww-even the thought is enough to turn my stomach. Anyway, Buckland is so arrogant and egotistical, he probably has a very, very tiny - well, you can fill in that blank yourself. Men who are arrogant and have ego problems usually - or so I'm told, I haven't done the research myself (yet) - have equipment the size of a peanut. Half. Remind me to write up a questionnaire sometime and go around the pub and ask. I'll bring a tape measure, too - and plenty of backup.

So, you ask, what is the plan? Do I have a plan? Is the Pope Catholic? Of course I have a plan-I always do.

Complaining to any hospital agency or department, or any medical council, is a useless exercise. And the courts don't help, because a barrister friend of mine told me that the big settlements are usually overturned in the appeals courts. So that is annoying. No, the best forum for whistle-blowing-and I am certainly whistle-blowing-is something that has become vital-and incredibly powerful- in the lives of anyone who has a computer: social media. Social media is the way to get all this important stuff out into the world, and the way to ensure that justice is served.

I don't really use Facebook. I have an account, but I'm rarely on it. I'm a bit too busy these days! And I don't have a Twitter account, or an Instagram account, or anything else that will probably bring me kicking and screaming into the year 2015. But I have friends who do-and so do you. Hopefully.

I only just uploaded my first ever video onto YouTube-therefore losing my YouTube virgin status. I know there is a link that can be sent to all my friends via email, but I haven't worked that one out yet. I'm still working on my second video-so technically that would probably make me a semi-virgin.

I went public because someone had to do so-people's lives are at stake. Now here is a question for you: would you put your life, or the lives of your loved ones (children, siblings, partners, parents, and anyone else you care deeply about) in the hands of someone who clearly lacks the ability to listen to you as a patient, who has a history of emotional and anger management issues (that would be Buckland), who clearly doesn't care if he or she cripples and nearly kills a patient? Would you put your life in the hands of someone like that-and someone who has no accountability to anyone, who can do what he or she wants without any fear of having to take responsibility for their actions?

I didn't think so-at least I hope not, because if you are that trusting of someone who doesn't have your interests and welfare at heart, you really have to be very naive. I was; I learned the truth the hard way.

I went public on the blog, on YouTube, only because I feel a moral obligation to those people who have been abused and victimized by evil doctors - doctors who must be stopped, or who must face an independent board - not other doctors, they are like a pack of rats, they all stick together - before these doctors succeed in crippling or killing more patients. And I know that many more so called "doctors" exist, in this country and in every other country. How many other people have had their lives destroyed because the hospital used Gentamicin, a known hideously toxic drug, when other, newer, less damaging and equally effective antibiotics are on the market?

The NHS won't pay for a decent drug if it can get away with poisoning someone with gentamicin. And the equally toxic doctors (like the four cripplers) won't be held accountable for anything they decide they want to do, no matter how unethical it is, until someone steps up and starts a riot.

So, the plan is simple: if everyone who reads this blog is as scandalized as I am - and if everyone has gone onto YouTube and searched for "crippled by hospital incompetence" (I'll post the shorter link as soon as I figure it out), and if everyone then sends links to the blog and the video to ten people, to everyone on their facebook page, to all their followers on Twitter, and possibly to the local newspapers, then we have more than just one person. If we get fifty people, we have what I call a grass roots movement - the start of a movement to create social change, to bring about social justice, to save lives of innocent people who might still believe that doctors are somehow gods.

If we get a few hundred-or, better still, a few thousand-then we have a revolution.

Why should anyone be afraid to speak out? Why should anyone be threatened, bullied, abused, mistreated, victimized, hurt in any way, either physically or emotionally (threats can be insidious things)? Why should anyone be forced to suffer because of evil, unscrupulous people who only have their interests (not ours) at heart? There are people who are afraid of reprisals, and people who don't speak the language (those are really prime targets of these monsters).

We can change the way doctors and hospitals do (or don't do things). We can save innocent people from having to go through what I have gone through for the past five years. We can force changes in the law so that we are all protected-and not just in the field of medicine, but in every other field as well.

Politicians are only there because we put them there. Doctors can only practice if we allow them to practice-and if they are worse than useless, if they are downright dangerous, we can be the ones who get them the discipline they so richly deserve.

Only we can do that-only we the people can do that. We can do that by voting with our feet, with our computers, with our phones and our texts and our emails. WE have all the power; we just don't know it. And we don't need guns, or terrorist attacks, or bombs, or anything that incites riots or creates heartache. All over the world, we are the ones who can initiate lasting change. All we need is the desire and the determination to do what is morally and ethically right.

Anyone else care to join me?