OXFORD University Hospitals has some question marks against its attitude to openness and transparency when its statements around rapist nurse Andrew Hutchinson are analysed.
When Hutchinson pleaded guilty, the trust released a statement in which it said (in bold no less) that November 2014 was the first it knew of the serious allegations against him.
That was true. But what the trust did not reveal was that it had previously investigated him following a complaint of “inappropriate behaviour” back in 2009.
It has claimed, in response to our enquiries, that it did not do so because it had not been asked about previous complaints and because of legal restrictions due to the ongoing court case.
A cynical view would be that the trust deliberately chose its words carefully over a case that poses serious questions about public safety. Hutchinson is the second JR nurse, after all, to be convicted of raping patients.
A truly transparent organisation would have volunteered information about 2009, if for no other reason than it could be clearly seen to place the public’s right to know above its own reputation.
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