‘HSSD made life difficult for me’
Friday 15th May 2009, 2:30PM BST.
A SENIOR Health employee who provided a former board member with sensitive information left her job yesterday, claiming the department made her life and work very difficult.
Clinical Risk Manager Lynn Lewendon, pictured, who is leaving the island to take a post in the UK, turned to Deputy Mike Hadley when HSSD staff allegedly did not react to her concerns.
She refused to say whether she thought this had anything to do with their later refusal to seek to extend her housing licence, although Deputy Hadley believes this to be the case.
Mrs Lewendon, whose job involved improving patient safety, said the final straw was being told to give a laptop, bought with a Healthcare Bursary, to HSSD. She was awarded the bursary for outstanding work for the people of Guernsey by the Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands.
She decided to spend around £2,500 of the £3,000 prize on an autism care project and a laptop.
‘I now have to hand that to HSSD, which I think is quite immoral really – and HSSD didn’t give it to me in the first place.’
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There must be more to this story than meets the eye. If the HSSD didn’t give her the laptop, she is under no obligation whatsoever to give it back.
The most they could have requested was for her to remove all sensitive data from it, something that their IT Department could have done without much difficulty.
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Well said Paul le P.
If the laptop was given to Mrs Lewendon by Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands why is the HSSD claiming it?
No reference at all to there being a clause in the competition saying the laptop would be given to HSSD if the winner left the job.
Seems like another cheap shot from this department.
Come on Hunter, inject a modicum of humanIty into your staff.
Your own personal standards are much higher than this.
If the report is correct as to detail, it also reflects on Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands, a company that for years has shown generosity to those who have done well in learning.
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The debate relating to the return of the lap-top computer raises concerns that the Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands will be reluctant to offer this bursary for funding for worthwhile rsearch into helath care for the island of guernsey in the future. I feel this is a worthwhile initiative which should benefit the community and not individuals.
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The bursary was awarded for the project that Mrs L put forward and not her as an individual. Therefore if she is not remaining in the employment of HSSD she is not completing the project and should not benefit from the bursary. Bit like claiming expenses that you feel you are entitled to. Hmmm that would never happen Mr Brown.
Paul Le P is quite right when he acknowledges that there is more to this story than meets the eye. This is about Deputy Hadley having an axe to grind with Deputy Adam and HSSD and using any means including using Mrs L a family friend as a political pawn. Cheap politics at its best supported by the unoffical Shadow cabinet that is the Guernsey Press.
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dam
Is your comment “The bursary was awarded for the project that Mrs L put forward and not her as an individual” based on fact?
If so can you explain what the terms of the bursary were?
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Mrs L won the bursary to enable her to research an autism care project – part of which included the purchase of a lap top. Other winners have used their winning money to travel – did they have to pay it back when they left? No.
This woman has been made a scapegoat of the HSSD. She worked tirelessly to improve clinical risk procedures but unfortunately it upset the establishment as it highlighted deficiencies in the department and sought to challenge long term problems. There still appears to be an ‘old boy network’ running the department – and no one wants to admit that sometimes there are clinical risks that could be improved. She did a very good job as i am sure than many staff would agree. She is a great loss to HSSD. Let’s hope her replacement is as objective as she was, and not just another manager who does not wish to ‘rock the boat’.
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Two thoughts here.
Either this is a ‘whistleblower’ kicking the cat as she leaves the position or its someone who has something important to say while in position and only now feels ‘safe’ to say something.
I have a bad feeling it is the latter of the two.
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Molly, I wouldn’t say that she has actually been made a scapegoat, more like they have, as they have done repeatedly with many of the more dedicated and determined experts they have, have ground her into the dust, becuase she failed to “play the game” and cow-tow to those that should no longer be in their jobs. After continually bashing your head against a brick wall of non-cooperation and “filing” of important reports and issues, wouldn’t you tell them to get lost?
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Perhaps it was time that there was an independent audit of the Civil Service in total as to wether the power that they have is being used in a proper manner.
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