Friday, June 19, 2009

Cawston Park hospital fraud trial collapses


The criminal case against Andrew Breeze and Dominic Wilson has collapsed - see EDP story. See Andrew's video statement and read Judge's closing remarks.

There must have been envy motivitating this trial, mustn't there? And I'm not just talking about from the two witnesses whose statements did not agree.

There has been an issue, if not scandal, about the way in which difficult to manage and place psychiatric patients have been shipped out of the NHS to private care (eg. see my comments on National Director of Mental Health's 10 year report). The problem is that it has been easy to make money out of this situation, not that there has been any fraud involved. Tony Chancellor, who set up the company that owns Cawston Park, made millions of pounds out of his business over a short time (although the Times story overstates how much he made - as Andrew Breeze himself pointed out at the time).

Good luck to Andrew in trying to find out what was behind this. Both Dominic and he were dismissed by Chancellor Care, so I imagine this story has got some way to run legally. Who was advising the NHS Counter Fraud Service?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Duncan for pointing out that there was no fraud.

You are right that it was envy motivating this trial but that was only part of the story. The NHS Counter Fraud Service were fooled by Mark Deveney (an ex employee of Cawston Park)who made a very clever malicious complaint. The Counter Fraud Department (Mr Ginnelly) then fooled junior officers in the police. The case took on a political momentum and there was no turning back, particularly after the police arrested David Prior. The police provided the CPS with a very biased report, because they did not understand what they were investigating, and hey presto we were charged! By this time Lloyds Bank disowned us and sacked us to protect their money, the Healthcare Commission had been got on board to say we were rubbish and the police bullyed some key witnesses into saying what they wanted and we were staring down the barrel of 6 - 8 years in prison.

When it came to Court British Justice took no time at all (7 weeks actually) to see through it all. Before the prosecution could finish their case the Judge sent the Jury home and proceeded to throw the case out of Court. The Judge made some closing remarks which I am told was unprecedented (copies available).

Afterwards the Jury insisted on meeting with me, took photographs of them shaking my hand and told me that they never belived one word of what Mark Deveney had said.

No wonder I want an inquiry! This was a conspiracy amongst several government agencies to get what they described as a 'result'. Now they can explain themselves and I will see to it that they do!

Thank you for your support during this very difficult time.

kind regards

Andrew Breeze

Anonymous said...

I hear that the company is now going into receivership. One assumes that the case and the removal of the two executives had a major part to play in that!

Anonymous said...

Cawston Park Hospital closed because once the original directors were removed following the inept and bungled police investigation the following happenned:

1. The bank brought in individuals to run the hospital who did not know what they were doing and were more interested in making money for themselves rather than providing high quality care (something Cawstion had developed a reputation for),

2. The original vision of the philosophy of care, implemented by the original directors, changed and

3. PCTs decided the 'special' had gone out of the hospital and so stopped referring = closure.

Had the bank stuck by the original directors when they were accused of wrongdoing the hospital would be open and thriving now.

An Independent Investigation is needed to establish why NHS Counter Fraud, the Police and CPS got it so badly wrong and why Lloyds Bank behaved in the way they did?

Anonymous said...

If the complaint was so malicious and see-through then i ask you why the case was investigated for a number of years?The complaint was made by various people so i find it odd that the blame seems to be pinned on just one person.I think this is a case of untrustworthy individuals yet again, managing to squirm out of their wrong-doings!

Andrew Breeze said...

It is a great shame that the above commentator did not have the personal integrity to leave their name! They clearly know little about the case.
The investigation lasted so long because there was no fraud and so one had to be 'constructed' by the police as after the arrest of David Prior it was politically impossible for them to say 'we got it wrong'.
The complaint was not made by various people but one individual (Mark Deveney) who had a grudge.

Finally when a Judge, who has all the facts in front of him, tells you to leave his Court with your head held high because you are a talented and decent man and you have got lots to offer your peers and patients that does not sound like 'untrustworthy individuals trying to squirm out of their wrongdoings'! Look at the facts they speak for themselves.

Andrew Breeze

Steve Pointer said...

I sat in Court every day of the trial of Andrew Breeze and Dominic Wilson. The whole process was a shambles from beginning to end with a few things striking me forcibly:

The Prosecutor dis not seem to know what he was prosecuting. He had no grasp of the case at all.

All the prosecution witnesses, except Mark Deveney, spoke in favour of the defendants and appeared to everyone in Court that they were actually defence witnesses.

Andrew and Dominic behaved like gentlemen throughout while some members of the police behaved outrageously around the Court buildings.

Having heard all the evidence I just could not understand why the case had ever been brought - there clearly was no fraud.

The Jury clapped and cheered when they heard that they were being instructed to find Andrew and Dominic 'Not Guilty'.

The Judge's comments were quite remarkable.

There needs to be an Independent Inquiry to discover why? Andrew and Dominic both deserve serious compensation.

Steve Pointer
25 wall Rd
Norwich

Anonymous said...

I totally agree! Mark Deveney was the only one who tried to ruin these two, and Tony Chancellor got off without being charged. Guess who Mark Deveney now works for? Yep Tony Chancellor!! He works for him at the Ryes School as head of Care and earns a fortune!! So what does that tell us, maybe time for more investigation?? or does the establishment continue to protect these two?

Anonymous said...

I've been following this for a while now and having worked at the Ryes School, now the Ryes College, I have some concerns that Tony Chancellor and Mark Deveney have closed yet another place that provides care, but this time it's a Childrens home. With fanancial backing from Lloyds they have run the school into the ground. Now the Ryes school looks imminent to close and Mark and Tony have upsticks and gone. I have only one question I wish to ask.
When did Tony Chancellor and Mark Deveney decide to go into business together? Was it before, during or after the Cawston Park Case???

Anonymous said...

Tony Chancellor employed Mark Deveney at Cawston Park Hospital. Tony Chancellor then sells the hospital and a short while later Deveney makes his malicious and false allegations which send the hospital into administration. Chancellor then employs Deveney at the Ryes College. Together they then close the Ryes College. Draw your own conclusions!

Anonymous said...

Interestingly enough Mark Deveney is now the manager of The Ripley Project in Norwich. Doesn't bode well!