In 2001, consultant cardiologist Dr Raj Mattu raised concerns after two patients died in crowded bays at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry. An independent inquiry led by Queen’s Counsel in 2007, costing about £500,000, recommended that Mattu be allowed to return to work. The trust nevertheless dismissed him in 2010, and had to hire two locum consultants to cover his position.
In April 2014, an Employment Tribunal found that Mattu’s whistleblowing had not caused or contributed to his dismissal and that he had suffered “many detriments” and unfavorable treatment by the trust. He sought more than £6.5 million in damages; in 2016, he was awarded £1.2 million. The case illustrates the personal and financial consequences of alleged retaliation against a healthcare professional who raised patient-safety concerns, although the supplied account does not identify further regulatory sanctions against the trust.
