Surgeon hits out at 'spin' in NHS

In a letter to a national newspaper, Howard Rutherford said he quit Darlington Memorial Hospital because he was "totally frustrated after 30 years' NHS service".

He also criticised "poor organisation" which meant that County Durham was still short of hospital beds and operating theatres, despite the construction of two hospitals, at Durham and Bishop Auckland.

Mr Rutherford, an orthopaedic surgeon who helped to start Darlington's private Woodlands Hospital, said "spin, disorganisation and dishonesty is the order of the day" in the health service.

He said that huge efforts were being made to fudge figures and fool the public.

The surgeon said he had discovered that patients at South Durham Health Care trust classified as priority cases because of clinical urgency were delayed so routine patients could be seen first.

This was because politically-sensitive waiting times were calculated on routine appointments, said the surgeon.

Mr Rutherford previously aired his fears about waiting lists management during a visit to Darlington by Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Dr Liam Fox, last May.

The surgeon said the medical profession had repeatedly warned health bosses that the two new hospitals being built in County Durham under the Government's Private Finance Initiative would be too small to cope.

A recent review of hospital services had discovered that the combined hospitals would need to handle an additional 9,322 inpatient and day cases in the year 2004/5, said Mr Rutherford.

But the new hospitals offered only one additional theatre and 130 fewer beds than the old units they replaced, he said.

The surgeon said he left the NHS due to annoyance and embarrassment at working in such a poor organisation.

A spokeswoman for South Durham Trust said Mr Rutherford's allegations had already been refuted.

County Durham and Darlington Health Authority is preparing to consult over proposals for closer links between hospitals.