Steve Garill has made contact with his own website address. This is a hugely valuable site simply and clearly set out. Contrast it with the navigational nightmare which is Shaping Health’s KMS.

The nearest PPI has to a nationally representative body so far is the Patient and Public Involvement Forums Organisation - PIFFO. This website has a myriad of invaluable information and comment about the NHS and how PPI is running. An essential resource for others' voices.

Paul Burns was, until June this year, Chair of the Patient & Public Involvement Forum for the Central & North West London Mental Health NHS Trust and a member of Brent PCT PPI Forum. In his time as Chair he, in tandem with others from London Forums, picked up serious concerns about the way CPPIH was governing PPI. Some of his concerns are voiced in his Natural Justice paper which he distributed at the CPPIH Birmingham Conference in early June 2005. He subsequently also penned a perceptive Conference Report.

And our first e mail response:

Hi Mike,

Great website. It’s also really encouraging to see people with principles determined to get their and other peoples’ voices heard and helping to level the playing field a bit. Well done.

On CPPIH front I now have a complaint in against Steve Lowden as he dismissed a complaint I had made about CPPIH Chair Sharon Grant wrongly accusing me of “witholding evidence” and “wasting his (Lowden's) valuable time”.

Lowden dismissed the complaint by stating that he accepted that “I had not deliberately witheld evidence”, a legalistic phrase intended to dilute and justify the accusation rather than apologise for it.

In fact I did not deprive the CPPIH of any evidence but as Investigating Officer Steve Lowden did as he did not even bother to ask David Crepaz Keay for a copy of the material I actually complained about even though I'd made it clear that the material vanished offline shortly after I complained to David about it.

After making no attempt to obtain the material he was supposed to be investigating Lowden then advised Sharon Grant that the fact that the material was missing meant there was no evidence to support a case.

Dr Lowden obviously has no qualms about abusing his legal knowledge and position to protect himself and his friends from legitimate complaints however as I spent a significant amount of time recovering evidence for the CPPIH after Commissioner Crepaz Keay deliberately deleted it I am now taking Sharon Grant's lead and invoicing the CPPIH for £500 for wasting my valuable time.

The following is the last communication I had from Lowden. For the record, his non–investigation of the material I actually complained about isnt an opinion its a fact.

Regards

Des

Dear Mr Curley I have noted your comments and appreciate that you are expressing your opinion regarding the investigation.

As stated in my letter dated 19 July, if you confirm that I can pass on your contact details to the NHS Appointments Commission, I will inform them that you are unhappy with the result of the investigation. It will then be up to them to decide how or if they intend to proceed with this matter.

As requested, I have arranged for a copy of the Commissioner’s Complaints Policy to be posted to you, and the CPPIH Freedom of Information Officer will deal with your FOI request.

Yours sincerely

Steve Lowden
Chief Executive

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