Whittington families 'fobbed off'

The families of three patients who have made serious complaints about the Whittington hospital today condemned the way they have been fobbed off by the Health Secretary.

Alan Milburn has accused the Evening Standard of lying about the appalling conditions described by one family, dismissing them as "fiction".

Yet when given the chance to ask all three families for themselves, Mr Milburn's aides declined the offer. Mr Milburn's special adviser Darren Murphy would not even accept the telephone number of an aggrieved family. Mr Murphy said: "I do not think that will be necessary. I think the most important thing is to ascertain the facts from the hospital."

Families have complained about how relatives were treated at the Whittington hospital in Archway. Rose Addis, 94, spent three days in casualty. It was her case which Mr Milburn dismissed as "fiction".

Jason Gold, 46, Mrs Addis's grandson, said: "I think we all deserve some kind of response from Alan Milburn. My mother has tried to speak to Milburn herself and was repeatedly fobbed off. She contacted her local MP, Iain Duncan Smith. He has agreed to talk to her."

Nigel Scott, whose 13-year-old son James Scott-Faulkner waited for more than eight hours in casualty with the potentially fatal symptoms of meningitis, said: "If I could speak to Mr Milburn now, I would ask him if he would be satisfied with the service he received if he went to hospital with his own son with suspected meningitis and had to wait eight hours." Lesley Hockley, whose 88-year-old uncle Sidney was left unwashed in casualty for five days, said: "Mr Milburn should let one of his family go up there and then he would have a different view."

The Department of Health refused to make any further comment. Referring to the three cases, a Depar tment of Health spokeswoman rang the Evening Standard to say: "We have nothing further to add to the comments made earlier."

Another family condemns Whittington
'Over-centralised and over-politicised'
'Ward can be used as a waiting room'