Eye On Index

Dr's Dabek and Samberger
Kazimierz Dabek  and Michal Samberger

20 February 2004

To Whom It May Concern

Drs Dabek & Samberger

Introduction
I am Bill Fernie a Highland councillor representing the area of Wick West in Wick, Caithness – part of Highland Region.  The area I represent on the Highland council covers the part of the town that includes the Caithness General Hospital and consequently I take a great interest in what happens there from the fact that it is in the boundary of the geographical area I represent and the fact that I am the area chairman for Housing and Social Work.

As you would expect I take an interest in a great many facets of local life and sit on many committees and bodies some of which overlap into health related matters.  I also actively pursue areas of concern to the local community.  To this end I became actively involved in setting up a local group following public meetings to resist the attempts to downgrade the Caithness General hospital’s maternity unit.  That group is called the North Action Group and we have taken an intense interest in anything connected to the hospital since major changes were first mooted to the public in October 2003.  The group was set up in November 2003 and we have very active and committed group of people trying to retain a consultant led service at the maternity unit in Wick.  I also run a web site and pages on the Caithness.org web site in connection with the campaign to keep consultant led services in the hospital and resist attempts by NHS Highland to run the unit as a midwife only unit.

Staffing the Maternity Unit At Caithness General
The local community have been informed on a number of occasions that Caithness General hospital is difficult to staff with consultant obstetricians.  The community have found it hard to accept this and the background of the situation at Caithness General is that the NHS have twice before in recent years attempted to make the service mid-wife led unit.  Campaigns have successfully stopped this.  The unit has continued albeit often with locums.  People also feel that perhaps NHS highland have never adequately tried to get permanent staff – they deny this but it is a local perception. 

I cannot talk about the clinical aspects of the situation Dr Dabek and Dr Samberger find themselves in.  They have come into the area unaware of the political and highly charged atmosphere surrounding this issue.  The people of Caithness were delighted when it was announced that two polish doctors were to work as locums and they quickly met and were welcomed in the area. Indeed there were indications from both men that they might like to stay longer and become permanent on the staff at Caithness General should this be possible...  To many local people this appears to disprove the NHS highland often said opinion that they could not recruit staff to Wick.  There is widespread view held by people in Caithness that NHS Highland are somehow manipulating the situation where there were two doctors hinting they might be prepared to stay long term.  The doctors themselves were totally unaware of the background and history as well as all of the local controversy surrounding potential changes to the unit.  Of course nothing is stated in print regarding the potential for the two doctors to stay on but many people have the view that it did not suit NHS Highland to hear that these two men might offer themselves for longer term employment in the maternity unit.    As I say this cannot be proved but is a widely held local view leading to much mistrust in the are of anything that NHS Highland say on staffing and recruitment – given that their intentions well signposted for the past six years are to change the unit to a midwife led unit.

The Dismissal
These two men find themselves in apposition which is intolerable.
I have read some of the material shown to me by Dr Dabek surrounding his own position and that is similar to Dr Samberger.   The handling of the cessation of their employment is I would suggest grossly negligent given the highly charged circumstances pertaining to any changes at the hospitals when a campaign by North Action Group and the publicity surrounding many other hospitals in Scotland was getting widespread coverage in not only the local Caithness press but in national papers in Scotland and the UK generally.   I and my fellow committee members representing public opinion locally have run an extremely high profile campaign obtaining coverage in the newspapers up and down the country and getting lots of TV and radio coverage.  Into all of this has been additional publicity - not created by us but picked up by all of the media involving the dismissal of the two Polish doctors.

Although I cannot comment on clinical matters and have not seen any  papers on the matter I can say that it appears to myself and many in the community that NHS highland has bent over backwards to try to find a reason after the fact for the dismissal.  They have written to all of the women seen by the doctors and tried to find a case to put forward as a reason for.  I understand nothing has  been forth-coming.  Indeed quite the opposite effect has been created.  Caithness has a small population and word spreads quickly.  Many of the women who received letters from NHS Highland have spoken of it to people in the county and they have expressed nothing but praise for their treatment.  It appears that the doctors have transgressed local rules of which they were completely unaware.

It is the apparent injustice of their current situation and its completely inept handling by NHS Highland that is so disappointing to local people in Caithness.

I have previously worked as a manager and Inspector of Taxes in various offices in Scotland and am well aware of the basic procedures involved in disciplinary matter relating to staff who are not performing according to what is expected from them in whatever capacity they are employed.  I have seen some of the paperwork that Dr Dabek has shown me relating to his case as far as employment goes.   It appears that with no reference to some basic concepts relating to employment NHS Highland have moved directly to dismissal without regard to the normal processes.  Whether or not they are legally entitled to do so under the contracts the handling of it all given the circumstances surrounding the unit in Wick was grossly unfair in my opinion.  It has given rise to the doctors finding it impossible to obtain employment and without actual reasons being given become a major story in the press known not just to people in Caithness but worldwide.  You merely have to go onto a search engine such as Google and type the names in to get to all the stories.  None of these stories gives any facts about the dismissal – merely leaving it for anyone not acquainted to assume that something must have happened.  For any potential employer of unit checking it must create doubt about their suitability.   That this has created a major injustice I have little doubt.

I am dismayed that we may have lost the possibility of retaining two very experience obstetricians in the area and further that the damage to the hospitals reputation over this case will make it extremely difficult to employ anyone in the near future if they have heard of the case.  The cynic in me would think that this is exactly the position that suits the argument to change the unit to mid-wife led only.  That view has changed and after all the political lobbying and huge campaign by North Action Group a new solutions group has been created.  The campaign has had marches and demonstrations with at one point 2000 people marching from Caithness General hospital in support of retaining the consultant led unit.

Finally
I write this letter not to present evidence but merely to express the support from many ordinary people in the county for these two gentlemen who find themselves embroiled in situation not of their own making.  In different circumstances their contracts might have been ended quietly and although on the face if it would still have been unjust but it would not have attracted any publicity. 

I and many other feel they have been extremely unfairly treated with no assistance as to an initial induction period to see what local procedure were in operation despite the offer of a departing consultant to stay on for few weeks to ensure they were able to cope with local procedures.  It appears to us as lay people that although they may use different methods there are nothing wrong with their effectiveness.  I fully accept that I cannot judge their clinical effectiveness.  NHS Highland does not feel they have to justify their actions to the local community and it is all treated as confidential.  However this merely exacerbates the whole position.

All of this I feel could have been so different.  With a small amount of goodwill by NHS Highland an induction period would have been offered.  Even after things began to go wrong this could easily have been instituted.   I am also appalled that normal good practice relating to verbal and written warnings does not appear to have been used if there was any problem perceived and no attempt by NHS Highland to assist these new employees whose contribution to our area would have been huge given the need for us to maintain effective maternity services.  

I shudder to think what other doctors will think if they consider coming to the county with the treatment that these doctors have received at the hands of NHS Highland.  

There may be ramifications with regard to the employment of other Polish nationals in Scotland - not a good thing given that in many skill areas we are in short supply of not just medical professionals but many other trades.   In the expanded European community we should have been ensuring that anyone could bring their skills and that in a partnership we would gain from their work and experience and they might earn some badly need earnings to send back to their home country.  That is what ought to have happened here but did not.

Yours sincerely

Bill Fernie
Highland Councillor