RAJ MATTU NOT LOUGHTON'S ONLY VICTIM.

Listening to 'Radio 4' this morning, I heard the story of a doctor who had finally been able to clear his name some 13 years after he was initially hounded, harassed and bullied by his employers, before being suspended in 2002 and sacked in 2010 from his post with the Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

Dr Raj Mattu was a consultant cardiologist who raised serious concerns about the treatment of some of his patients, 2 of whom died due to poor safety procedures at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry. It seems that the hospital management did not take kindly to his actions and did everything they could to discredit him. Ultimately, he was paid for 8 years while on suspension, costing the NHS well over ½million pounds, and the Trust also incurred huge legal costs. Dr Mattu will now also receive a substantial compensation payment in respect of his treatment, loss of earnings and reputation, damage to his health and so on.

What drew me to this story is that I also suffered from the bullying behaviour of the Trust's then chief executive, David Loughton. During a merger of 2 neighbouring Trusts, Loughton attempted to drive me from my senior post and declare me redundant, quite illegally as was confirmed when I took basic advice. In my case, he very quickly backtracked to a degree, though I was still levered out of my post and out of the Trust little more than a year later although I did gain alternative employment and still within the NHS. Sometime later, during an important meeting, Loughton even referred back to these events, something which was utterly inappropriate and clearly designed to try to intimidate me; it was clear that he had no limits as to what he would do to anyone who crossed him. The overall experience is not one I would care to repeat and I have great sympathy for Dr Mattu whose ordeal has lasted for so many years.

Loughton was effectively forced to resign from the Coventry Trust in March 2002, after he was the subject of intense criticism for his behaviour and the Trust's performance. In addition to the bullying of staff, it was the case that the Trust had routinely manipulated figures relating to its activities, claiming far better results than were the case. Insiders told me at the time that this was done on the direct instructions of Loughton but everyone was far to scared of him to do or say anything about it. Matters came to a head only when the then NHS 'watchdog', the Commission for Health Improvement' gave the Trust the lowest possible rating in 2001.

Shockingly, even after all of this, Loughton resurfaced in August 2004 as chief executive of another NHS Trust in Wolverhampton, where he is now facing similar accusations. Unfortunately, as he is now 60, he is quite able to walk away with his substantial pension and any sanctions against him are likely to be little more than window dressing. He is also unlikely to be deprived of the C.B.E. which he was awarded, quite inexplicably, in the 2010 New Year's Honours List.