[Nurse Amin Abdullah video link at the bottom of this page]
Welcome to this website which is dedicated to creating a fairer, more open and safer UK National Health Service, and to bringing about fundamental changes in its culture. It is also dedicated to providing a scientific, evidence-based foundation to the discussion of many of the key issues involved. This website supports an NHS that treats its staff fairly and justly, that cherishes and rewards clinical excellence, that takes into account scientific evidence in its policies and procedures, that has compassion at the heart of everything it does, that actively supports staff who raise concerns about patient care, and that is much more open and transparent.
The former Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, once called for an approach that incorporates ‘a little less Stalin, and a little more Gandhi’. Here are a few other quotes from leading figures…….
It is important that no tolerance is afforded to oppressive managerial behaviour. Victimisation of staff who raise honest concerns…cannot be tolerated. There is much to do in this area before staff feel safe – Sir Robert Francis QC. February 2014. Chair of the Inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust & of the Review into NHS Whistleblowing |
Repeatedly we hear of unaccountable managers protecting themselves and undertaking biased investigations, character assassination, lengthy suspensions, disciplinary hearings which resemble kangaroo courts, and ultimately dismissal of staff who previously had exemplary work records – Sir Robert Francis QC. February 2015. (NHS Whistleblowing Report) |
Whistleblowers do not fare well in the NHS. This is one of the major indictments of management in the NHS: that it is inwards-looking, over-defensive and prone to destroy, by a variety of means, those who suggest that the Emperor has no clothes. This is not unique to this Review. It is a blight on the NHS and is one of the principal areas where lessons must be learned – Sir Ian Kennedy, 2013. (Report into surgeon Ian Paterson, convicted of harming patients) |
A culture change must also extend to NHS disciplinary procedures – Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, House of Commons. March 9, 2016 |
What can NHS Providers do?…..Address NHS Disciplinary Policies and Procedures – NHS Patient Safety Champion, Dr Suzette Woodward. September 19, 2016 |
Government has a responsibility to step up to correct injustices and tackle unfairness Prime Minister, Theresa May. October 5, 2016 |
It is the job of government to correct injustice and unfairness wherever it is found – Prime Minister, Theresa May. January 8, 2017 |
This website is maintained by Professor Narinder Kapur who found himself and his family in financial distress as a result of his unfair ‘kangaroo court’ dismissal in 2010 when he worked at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. He was a whistleblower who repeatedly raised patient safety concerns. Professor Kapur is a consultant neuropsychologist, past-President of the British Neuropsychological Society, and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Psychological Society. He can be contacted at – n.kapur@ucl.ac.uk
An ordeal similar to that of Narinder Kapur was suffered in late 2015 by the award-winning nurse Amin Abdullah who subsequently burned himself to death outside Kensington Palace, London in early 2016 after his grossly unfair dismissal when he worked at a London hospital.
Amin’s moving story has been put together in pictures, words and music. A full, 20 mins video can be viewed here, A Nurse’s Tragic Journey
A 5 mins Trailer video can be viewed here, Trailer, A Nurse’s Tragic Journey
The 2018 Independent Inquiry report into the treatment of Amin Abdullah can be viewed here –
The Press Release from Amin’s partner, Terry Skitmore, at the time of release of the Inquiry Report, is available here –
Details of the Recommendations recently produced (May 2019) by NHS Improvement regarding disciplinary procedures are available here
The related Circular and Interim Guidance sent in May 2019 to NHS Trusts by Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, is available here
The letter sent by the NHS Chief People Officer, Prerana Issar, to all healthcare professional and regulatory bodies in November 2019 is available here.
An important further letter was sent by the NHS Chief People Officer, Prerana Issar, to all NHS Trusts in December 2020. This asked Trusts to overhaul their HR disciplinary procedures in line with the new Imperial College NHS Trust policy. Her letter is available here and the new Imperial policy is available here. A Commentary article written by Professor Kapur and colleagues is available here.
The story of Dr Suresh, who committed suicide in 2018 after finding himself investigated by the GMC for allegations which appear to have been deeply flawed, is summarised here.
There is a report published by the Medical Protection Society in November 2024 on reforming NHS disciplinary procedures. On Page 3 of the report, it refers to work that I did with Baroness Dido Harding when she worked at NHS Improvement, and this work followed on from the self-immolation of Nurse Amin Abdullah.
Regarding the Nurse Amin Abdullah Award scheme – Mr Amin was an award-winning nurse at Charing Cross Hospital, London, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. In February 2016, after going through an unfair “kangaroo court” dismissal process, he burned himself to death outside Kensington Palace. A subsequent independent inquiry resulted in apologies from the trust and major changes to disciplinary procedures across the NHS. In collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing Foundation, Mr Amin’s partner, Terry Skitmore, and I have set up a Nurse Amin Abdullah Award scheme to reward those nurses in the UK who do the most to promote staff wellbeing in the workplace. We donated £10,000 to fund the scheme for 10 years. The award is worth £1,000, and is funded initially for 15 years, thanks to a further £5,000 donation from Nathan Illman, who has set up a nurse wellbeing mission.
Professor Kapur and Amin’s partner presented the first Amin Abdullah nursing award at the May 9, 2024 Royal College of Nursing Foundation award ceremony. Also present in the picture is the award winner, Mei Chen. Next to Professor Kapur is Amin’s partner, Terry Skitmore, and on the far right is Reverend Richard Coles, who was compere for the evening.
Professor Kapur was inspired in his work by Dr Karen Woo, a UCL-trained doctor who was killed by terrorists in 2010 while on an aid mission to Afghanistan. Dr Woo went out of her way, making lots of sacrifices, to provide help to others. In his own NHS post in Cambridge, Professor Kapur went out of his way to help others, often making lots of sacrifices. Professor Kapur has set up two award schemes in memory of Dr Woo, and these can be found in the Karen Woo tab above.
In 2022, Professor Kapur received a Patient Safety Award from the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and this award is shown below –
In 2023, I received an award from the British Indian Nurses Association for the work I have done to help NHS nurses in the UK.