North East Ambulance whistleblower calls for public inquiry

Paul Calvert said his health had suffered since he first raised concerns three years ago

A whistleblower who exposed claims an ambulance service was covering up details of patient deaths says a proposed review "won't go far enough".

Paul Calvert, a coroner's officer for the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NEAS), wants a full public inquiry into what happened.

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he was considering a new, independent review into the claims.

NEAS apologised for failings and said its system is now "robust".

'Empty rhetoric'

Mr Calvert told the BBC he was offered £41,000 as a "bribe to shut up and go away" when he raised concerns that details of deaths involving mistakes by paramedics were being withheld from coroners and families.

He said the service had a "culture of cover up and bullying" and he felt "pretty disgusted" having been "completely destroyed mentally and physically" since raising concerns three years ago.

He said he spoke out because it was the "right thing" for families, taxpayers and the vast majority of his NEAS colleagues.

"I believe there are a lot of families out there that still don't know what happened to their loved ones and there are people who currently work for NEAS who need to be held to account for their actions," he said.

As first reported in the Sunday Times, concerns were raised by whistleblowers about more than 90 cases from 2018 and 2019.

Mr Javid told the Health and Social Care Committee of MPs that while a review had already been held by NHS England he was "seriously considering" a new study.

Mr Calvert described the minister's words as "empty rhetoric" and said such a review "would not go far enough".

He believes only a full public inquiry, with people compelled to give evidence, will suffice.

'Not satisfied'

His case was raised in the Commons by Grahame Morris, Labour MP for Easington, who said: "Paul Calvert bravely exposed the North East Ambulance Service's management failures, and indeed criminal negligence, of cover-ups of patient deaths.

"Mr Calvert is being bullied, harassed, blackmailed but he still refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

"They offered him £41,000 on condition of his silence in destroying the evidence he has of wrongdoing."

In response, Mr Javid said a health minister will meet with some of the families affected and is also keen to meet Mr Calvert.

The health secretary said he was "very concerned" about NEAS and was "not satisfied with the review that has been done already and I do think that we need a much broader, powerful review".

He added: "I will be having more to say on this very shortly."

NEAS chief executive Helen Ray said the service "unreservedly apologised for the distress" caused to families, and the trust's "reporting mechanisms" had undergone change.

"When concerns were raised, we acted," she said. "The findings of independent reviews that we commissioned reported that we had issues with our governance and process, but there was no evidence that information was being withheld.

"We are confident that the system in place now is robust."