Independent review into cover up allegations at North East Ambulance Service

The Health Secretary says we need to find out exactly what happened

NEAS
Author: Micky WelchPublished 15th Jun 2022

The Health Secretary has confirmed there's to be an independent review into claims the North East Ambulance Service covered up details about patient deaths after mistakes by paramedics.

Sajid Javid confirmed the news yesterday after being questioned by Labour's Shadow Health Secretary in the House of Commons

Wes Streeting said: "It is now weeks since he was warned about the negligence, the cover-up, the bribing of whistleblowers to stay silent about the scandals at North East Ambulance Service. Since then, he has done precisely nothing to investigate that scandal."

Mr Javid replied: "We will be having an independent review and the NHS has agreed to do that."

Responding yesterday (Tues 14th June), chief executive of NEAS, Helen Ray said the trust welcomed a review:

“Following recent concerns raised in the media and through some of our local MPs, we have been working closely with our regulators to ensure that there is full and transparent sharing of any learning from our internal investigations.

"We welcome this independent scrutiny which will make sure that the families we serve and our staff have the levels of assurance they need.

"As ever our main thoughts remain with the families affected."

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