The group of 17 families urged deputies now to turn their attention to overhauling how complaints in health services are handled and wider cultural change in healthcare.
The Medical Specialist Group unexpectedly revealed support for an independent complaints procedure and Health & Social Care president George Oswald also accepted that the existing arrangements required reform.
The first signs of agreement about the need for change emerged immediately after a six-hour debate – conducted in a highly respectful tone – concluded with the States voting 11-22 against a recommendation to suspend Deputy St Pier for 25 days.
‘If there was an independent complaints body for medicine, or for medical services in the island, I don’t think that would be a bad thing,’ said MSG chairman Dr Steve Evans.
‘I think it would give patients reassurance if they had a complaint and would also give some protection to doctors. Accusations of us marking our own homework couldn’t be labelled at us.’
The families welcomed the Assembly’s decision to reject standards commissioner Dr Melissa McCullough’s recommendation to suspend Deputy St Pier, following which Dr McCullough immediately resigned from the role she had held since 2023. The families hoped it marked a change of attitude from the authorities who they accuse of failing to listen to families living with the psychological and physical consequences of a health service lacking compassion and regulation.
‘Over nearly 10 years of pursuing every legitimate process open to us, and despite three regulatory investigations with many recommendations for action, we have singularly failed to secure any accountability for the harm caused for the poor care and poor behaviours that we have suffered,’ said the families in a statement.
‘We have also singularly failed to secure any improvement in the system, controls and culture in paediatric healthcare.
‘Many of the speeches from deputies over the last two days indicated that they recognise there are fundamental problems with paediatric healthcare – its delivery, culture and processes for families to raise questions or challenge opinions. These speeches also recognised that the time for systemic change is overdue. We completely concur.
‘We hope those in leadership positions, both in health care and the States, will now act with urgency so that fundamental and permanent positive change will result. We remain completely committed to this aim and will play any part asked of us that will bring the required change at scale and pace.’
Deputy Oswald pledged that HSC under his leadership would try harder to ‘build bridges’ between the campaigning families and the medical profession.
He said he believed there could be advantages to developing a less adversarial complaints procedure.
Deputy St Pier, who was reprimanded by the previous States over a similar issue, said he felt ‘absolutely exhausted but also relieved’ after yesterday’s debate.
‘I’m pleased the quality of the debate today was excellent,’ he said.
‘It was one of the better ones in my many years in the States and stands in stark contrast to debates on the same topic in the last term. That is a reflection of the changed nature of the States and bodes well.
'Clearly a lot of people had given a lot of thought to the substantive issues... and nobody was making the decision lightly.’
He paid tribute to families who had come forward to tell him of their distressing experiences of health services.
He appreciated that the past few weeks had been stressful for them.
‘But I think it has also empowered some people and given them agency and made them realise that there are people who will listen and seek to represent their concerns,’ he said.
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