Episode description

Helen experienced institutional harm across multiple sectors - NHS healthcare, social care, safeguarding services, and employment systems. Her journey through every agency, regulator and ombudsman reveals the devastating pattern of institutional self-investigation that re-traumatises survivors whilst protecting organisational reputation.

With unique insights from experiencing these systems from both sides - as someone seeking help and as an NHS employee - Helen shares how institutions defaulted to "deny, attack, reverse victim and offender" rather than correct avoidable errors. She was recently part of London Safeguarding Voices, a survivor-led group that provided crucial input to statutory services until funding was cut, silencing these essential voices.

Fifteen years on from avoidable NHS errors in 2009, Helen is still fighting for her care to be put right.

Content warning

This episode discusses childhood abuse, trauma, medical negligence, institutional failure, discrimination, employment tribunal experiences, and the systematic failure of safeguarding systems. Please take care whilst listening.

Key quotes

"Everyone suspected and realised that there was harm and danger in my home but no one added that picture together across all the agencies"

"The same organisations that ought to have protected me as a child were now failing me as an adult"

"I categorically knew that I was taking the dose that I was taking and that the GP had got it wrong... but the PHSO was so strongly wanting to be on the side of the GP who'd made the mistake that they were trying to gaslight me"

"It seems madness that the same people who are responsible for doing the harms are the same people the system puts back in charge of correcting those harms"

"Unfortunately we're in a position where we can't trust our NHS anymore"

"The public live in a society that's broadly fair, just and civil to each other, where we respect each other as human beings and this often isn't our experience in the public sector or the system"

Contact

Follow @addresstheharm on social media
Visit addresstheharm.org
Email: press@addresstheharm.org

Take action

• Support our crowdfunding campaign at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/addresstheharm
• Share this episode to amplify survivors' voices
• Download the white paper at www.addresstheharm.org

Address the Harm is hosted by Leah Brown FRSA, founder of The WayFinders Group and architect of the Coalition for Institutional Accountability.

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