Article for Autumn 2005 edition of The Whistle
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VOLUNTEERS HAVE NO PROTECTION FROM DISMISSAL The duties of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) include the selection and appointment of members of Patient and Public Involvement Forums, whose function is to monitor local NHS bodies. There are several thousand members, but there is still a shortage of volunteers, so selection is little more than elimination of people who are disqualified (because they are NHS employees) or incapable (because of a dangerous criminal record or expression of racist or other views that are incompatible with representing the community). CPPIH will dismiss Forum members for the same reasons and for misconduct (such as fraudulent expenses claims) and for unjustified prolonged inactivity. There is no appeal against dismissal. Forum members are nearly all middle aged or elderly, but even within that age range significant groups of NHS users are under-represented, including people with mental illnesses. Some Forum members have complained about CPPIH, for ineffectiveness or for inappropriate discrimination against people for their medical condition. This does not affect these members’ ability to work for their Forums. Those who have been dismissed have found that they are not protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). Dismissal of Forum members should be subject to similar independent procedures as apply to sanctions against elected councillors. One website that was critical of CPPIH was http://www.ppeyes.co.uk/. The web host took this website offline after CPPIH warned of potential libel action. The House of Lords’ judgment in Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd (1992) included a statement that
It would be interesting to know why CPPIH believes it is outside the scope of this judgment. [By Geoffrey Porter-Williams] |
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Sheila
Porter-Williams |