Michael Swinn describes in searing detail his torturous experience of being an NHS whistle-blower and argues powerfully for change. His journey from medical student to Consultant surgeon and head of department is chronicled followed by his struggles to persuade hospital managers to listen to his and his colleagues' serious concerns regarding patient care. By the time they were eventually proved right, much harm had sadly been done to many patients, some of whom tragically died.
A nightmarish, Kafkaesque world is described of seemingly interminable investigations, breath-taking incompetence, subterfuge and bluff by some managers apparently more intent on covering their own backs and limiting corporate reputational damage than protecting patients.
Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall forensically dissects and dismantles the system he faced from the local hospital management right up to the GMC and argues persuasively for wholesale change to prevent similar tragic episodes from occurring in the future.
"An absolute page turner and utterly compelling, Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall highlights the perils of becoming a whistle-blower in the NHS and how the system needs to improve. Essential reading for all hospital doctors and managers".
Professor Stephen Langley MS FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
"Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall...is a "must read" for all medical students to empower them to be advocates for patient safety and speakers of truth to power should they ever find themselves in a similar situation."
Professor Claire Sharpe, Dean of Education, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham
We owe Mike Swinn a debt of gratitude for his immense integrity and persistence in raising patient safety concerns...As a former nurse I ask that every NHS service manager, clinician and board member read this book and act on its recommendations. It is sadly too late for our family but the issues he raises are a matter of life and death".
Widow of Patient C
"I would like to thank Michael Swinn for sticking his head above the parapet and exposing practices that have no place in a modern sophisticated health service that claims to be the best in the world. We need more like him".
Garth Crooks OBE, former Chairman of the Professional Footballers Association
"A healthcare tale that really belongs on the shelves marked "horror" or "crime""
Mr Tim O'Brien MA DM FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
"Michael Swinn undoubtedly saved lives by his struggle to get his concerns heard and if senior Trust executives learn from his experience and implement his recommendations, the impact on patient safety will be felt right across the NHS".
Lorcan Woods, former Chief Financial Officer, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
"This book is not just about the NHS. There are crucial messages here that must be adopted right across all sectors...Tolerance of toxic behaviour or incompetence destroys culture".
Christopher Brockelsby, (new) Chief Transformation Officer, Post Office LTD
"I found reading this very troubling...and in my opinion Michael Swinn emerges as a complete hero. And so now I believe the recommendations he makes for change, which includes regulating hospital administrator training, should be examined very carefully by whoever the authorities are that can improve the situation, so that nothing similar ever happens again".
Professor Clare Fowler CBE, former Professor of Uro-Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery