Victory for surgeon in £10m battle with NHS
A TOP heart surgeon who was sacked after he exposed shocking NHS failings won £1.22million damages yesterday in a major victory for free speech.
Raj Mattu’s vindication comes 15 years after spoke out about his concerns for patient safety.
Health bosses have already squandered more than £10million of taxpayers’ money on a decadelong witch hunt to silence him.
The cardiologist’s case was championed by the Mail – which has campaigned for openness in the NHS and protection for staff who are prepared to risk their careers to blow the whistle on incompetence and wrongdoing.
Last night Dr Mattu said he been ‘vilified and bullied’ after making claims about care at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry in 2001. He was dismissed after he exposed the fact that two patients had died in dangerously overcrowded bays.
Bosses at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust then hounded him when he challenged his dismissal through an employment tribunal – costing taxpayers millions.
The tribunal ruled in April 2014 that he had been unfairly dismissed. The hearing was adjourned while the level of damages was decided. Last night the trust said it had agreed to pay Dr Mattu £1.22million.
Dr Mattu said: ‘ The overriding feeling I and my wife have is relief that there is finally a full stop.’
A source close to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the case showed why hospitals needed to listen to whistleblowers.
In a statement, the trust said: ‘ While £ 1.22million is a l arge amount, it is a significant reduction from the original claim and has finally resolved this matter.
‘We accept that it has been difficult for all i nvolved and are relieved that this case has now been brought to an end.’