Sacked heart specialist Dr Raj Mattu loses appeal

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A sacked heart specialist who went public about patient overcrowding in a Coventry hospital has lost an appeal to overturn his dismissal.



Dr Raj Mattu exposed the cases of two patients who died in crowded bays at the former Walsgrave Hospital in 2001.

He was suspended for alleged bullying but was later cleared. He then refused to accept NHS retraining.

Dr Mattu said his human rights had been breached but the High Court said it was lawful for his employer to sack him.

The court ruled that while ill health had contributed to a delay in Dr Mattu returning to work or attending his disciplinary hearings, the trust's dismissal process had followed the correct procedure.

'Perfectly reasonable'

The heart specialist said that as part of his reskilling he should be allowed to undertake six months of research-related work in the United States.

University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust refused the request and Dr Mattu was dismissed in November 2010 for failing to sign the trust's retraining plan to get him back to work.

In July Dr Mattu appealed against the decision to sack him claiming that it had ended his medical career and that his human rights had been breached because the case had been decided by the trust's chief executive rather than an independent, impartial panel.

Presiding judge Timothy Straker QC said on Monday the disciplinary process had not required independent medical involvement.

He said the trust was entitled to undertake disciplinary procedures and the way it had executed that process met the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judge added: "It seems to me perfectly reasonable for the trust to be interested in getting Dr Mattu back to work.

"The trust was entitled to make reasonable requirements of Dr Mattu and the requirement of Dr Mattu that he be reskilled as a consultant cardiologist for which post he had been engaged without a period for academic reskilling appears perfectly reasonable and rational."

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Coventry heart specialist Dr Raj Mattu loses second appeal against dismissal

A COVENTRY heart specialist at the centre of the costliest disciplinary dispute in NHS history has lost a second legal appeal against his sacking.

Dr Raj Mattu has spent 10 years fighting hospital bosses since he was accused of bullying and suspended.

The charges were eventually dropped but a further dispute over retraining culminated in his dismissal at the end of 2010.

Dr Mattu claimed bosses at University Hospital breached his human rights, but has seen his case rejected by the High Court and now by a panel of judges at the Court of Appeal.

Lord Justice Stanley Burton said the case focussed on Dr Mattu’s contractual rights, not his civil rights.

He said the consultant cardiologist could take his case to an employment tribunal to decide if his dismissal was fair, but given the obvious breakdown in relationships he was reluctant to intervene.

Dr Mattu was first suspended shortly after he turned whistleblower to expose how heart patients were dying on overcrowded wards. His supporters have always maintained the two were linked.

He was finally allowed to return to work five years later after an inquiry and medical regulator recommended no further action. By that time his skills had lapsed.

Dr Mattu insisted he should be trained to resume the research side of his contract as well as bringing his medical skills back up to speed.

That led to a fresh dispute and a new raft of charges. The doctor was sacked in his absence in November 2010 after numerous attempts to haul him before a disciplinary panel.

He then appealed – claiming the disciplinary panel should have included an independent medical professional. He also alleged the decision had stopped him practising as a doctor, breaching his human rights.

Despite blocking Dr Mattu’s appeal, the judges appeared to suggest there were serious contractual issues that will need closer scrutiny by an employment tribunal.

Lord Justice Enias said it was “incontestable” that Dr Mattu’s work at the hospital included research.

The doctor was also “contractually entitled” to have the disciplinary case against him heard by a panel that included a medical professional who was not employed by the trust, Lord Enias said.

Legal commentators said the Court of Appeal decision would be widely welcomed by NHS trusts and private firms who employed doctors.

However, Dr Mattu’s case continues to rumble on and the Telegraph understands an employment tribunal hearing is pending.

The case is estimated to have cost taxpayers more than £6million and the bill continues to rise.

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Sacked doctor 'was unfairly dismissed', tribunal rules



A heart specialist was unfairly sacked after raising concerns about patient safety, a tribunal has ruled.

Dr Raj Mattu was dismissed by University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in 2010.

In 2001, he exposed the cases of two patients who had died in crowded bays at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry.

Dr Mattu said he was "absolutely relieved" at the ruling. The trust said it was disappointed and would examine the ruling for grounds to appeal.

Employment Judge Pauline Hughes ruled the consultant "did not cause or contribute to his dismissal" and had been subject to "many detriments" by the trust as a consequence of being a whistle-blower.

His allegations had been "serious" and "attracted a great deal of media coverage and public interest", she said.

She also ruled that the surgeon had been treated "unfavourably" by the trust as a result of a disability.

But she dismissed Dr Mattu's claims of racial discrimination.

Dr Mattu told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the trust had made false allegations against him as a "plausible alternative" for his dismissal - when the real reason had been his whistle-blowing.

"Scores of false allegations, some of them quite heinous, were put forward," he said.

"The saddest thing out of all of this for me is that the people who have lost out the most are the patients and the public because for 13 years the trust management have prevented me from looking after patients.

"They have also, in the way they have treated me, discouraged any further whistle-blowers in the NHS from coming forward and risking having their career and livelihood destroyed."

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No appeal against sacked doctor ruling



A Coventry hospital has decided not to appeal against a tribunal which found it had sacked one of its doctors unfairly.

Dr Raj Mattu was dismissed by University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in 2010.

In 2001, he exposed the cases of two patients who had died in crowded bays at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry.

In April, a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed. The trust said it was not appealing against the decision.

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Sacked doctor hopes to win at least £6.5m in damages from Coventry NHS



Unfairly sacked doctor Raj Mattu says he hopes to win at least £6.5million in damages.

If successful, his claim would be the biggest ever compensation for a dismissal for a doctor in the UK.

An employment tribunal ruled in April that Dr Mattu had been unfairly dismissed by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and last week the trust decided it was not going to appeal against that decision.

Now the case will go before a hearing to decide on the level of compensation to be awarded.

Speaking from his home in Warwick, Dr Mattu told the Telegraph no amount of money could make up for what he lost in his long battle with the hospital trust.

The 13 year wrangle began after the specialist exposed patient safety fears at Walsgrave Hospital in 2001. He was eventually dismissed in 2010.

He said: ‘‘This has been a terrible ordeal. It has destroyed my life in terms of my career, my health and livelihood and family life and no amount of money can repay what I have lost.

“The trust has shown total disregard for the public purse.”

The trust in charge of Coventry’s University Hospital and St Cross, Rugby, is thought to have spent at least £10million on its legal fight so far.

The trust’s decision not to appeal comes as a relief to the heart specialist, who was suspended by the trust on full pay after being accused of bullying.

Dr Mattu says the legal proceedings caused him stress and that exacerbated a condition he was diagnosed with in 2003.

He says it is an auto-immunity disease so rare that it has no name, and there is only one other person in the world with the illness.

Dr Mattu argued the pressure of his case was directly responsible for a huge deterioration in his health.

At its worst, he says he sought help from his GP twice a week and travelled to London for specialist medical attention once a fortnight but the situation turned critical weeks before his dismissal.

He says he found himself unable to move during the life-threatening episode at home and was taken to Warwick Hospital before being transferred to London for specialist treatment, and only pulled through after two months in hospital on high doses of toxic medication.

He says he never discovered how close he came to losing his life until his GP spoke as witness when his case went to court.

Recalling that day, he said: “The words of my GP at the High Court in July 2011 were that the medical team were concerned that I may not survive this. When I heard that my wife and I exchanged glances.”

He claims the hospital trust was aware of his illness but made no allowances for his condition during the disciplinary process, leading the tribunal to find in his favour on disability grounds.

“I was often overwhelmed by my illness,” he explained.

“It was quite depressing and I have been on anti-depressants for a long time.

“Stress made it worse and the trust knew that.”

With the ordeal of the tribunal now over, he feels in better health.

Praising those closest to him for their support over the years, he added: “If it wasn’t for my wife, very close friends and some colleagues, it’s not a fight I could have taken for 13 years on my own.

“The tribunal’s verdict was a relief, but for me it was also very important that I was exonerated for those who stood by me and came in for personal criticism to see justice done. I couldn’t have done this without them.”

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It's not just What Dr Mattu lost, it's also what Coventry lost!

The management at that hospital are a joke and need clearing out.

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Coventry heart specialist Dr Raj Mattu awarded more than £1million for unfair dismissal



A Coventry heart specialist who was unfairly dismissed after making whistle blowing allegations against the NHS has been awarded more than £1million after a three year legal fight.

Doctor Raj Mattu, from Radford, is now considering becoming a science teacher.

The Birmingham Employment Tribunal remedy hearing was held for tribunal judge Mrs Pauline Hughes to decide how much award Dr Mattu should receive after she previously decided that he had been unfairly dismissed by the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

But the case was finally settled with an agreement between Dr Mattu and the Trust after several hearings over three years.

Mrs Hughes decided at a previous hearing that £70,000-a-year Dr Mattu had been subjected to detriment after making his whistle blowing allegations against the Trust.

A legal claim for race discrimination by Dr Mattu who is of Asian origin, was rejected.

He had alleged that his complaints had been ignored over the way patients were treated by the Trust.

He alleged that five patients were put in a ward designed for four on one occasion which he claimed led to the death of one of them.

Another patient also died in another crowded ward, he alleged.

The Trust had denied the allegations and had opposed his legal claims.

He had told a previous hearing that he had been vilified and bullied as a result of making the whistle blowing disclosures.

Mr John Cavanagh QC, representing the Trust, had accused Dr Mattu at a previous hearing, of being “greedy” in trying to claim an award of millions of pounds

Mr Cavanagh also questioned whether it was right for a claim by Dr Mattu for £2.9 million to be included in an award for a house in Hampden, London, considering tax payers would be helping Dr Mattu to make a profit should he later sell the property.

At the latest hearing Mrs Hughes was told that Dr Mattu was now considering becoming a science teacher at a secondary school.

“The tribunal should consider that he could earn about £30,000 a year as a teacher,” said Mr Cavanagh.

After Mrs Hughes suggested Mr Cavanagh and Dr Mattu should consider reaching an agreement over settlement it was finally decided that the NHS should pay Dr Mattu £1,220,000.

Mrs Hughes said she was delighted with the outcome because she could finally get rid of more than 40 bundles of legal evidence that had “cluttered” the court room for several years.

Mr Mattu said afterwards he was pleased with the award and was now looking forward to a new career.

The hospital trust has been contacted for a comment.