Joint public statement regarding Justin Nowell, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at the Trust
On 9 August 2018, the Trust excluded Mr Nowell from his employment within the cardiac surgery unit of the Trust.
The exclusion did not relate to patient safety concerns or to Mr Nowell’s skills or competence. In excluding Mr Nowell, the Trust accepts that it failed to correctly follow its internal procedures and the Trust apologises for any distress caused to Mr Nowell by this decision. The Trust lifted Mr Nowell’s exclusion on 29 August 2018 and no further action was taken.
In September 2018, unrelated to his exclusion, the Trust released information to the Health Service Journal which was subsequently published. Whilst the Trust considered that it acted properly in disclosing this information as it was correct and in the public domain, the Trust did not notify Mr Nowell in advance of the disclosure. The Trust acknowledges that its actions did not meet the transparency principles under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Trust apologises to Mr Nowell for any infringement of his data protection rights and for any distress this caused him.
The Trust has reviewed and updated its Privacy Statements and relevant training and guidance for the processing of staff data as part of its wider organisational learning and improvements.
The Trust has learned from these events and since 2018 has taken steps to improve its systems and processes.
Mr Nowell and the Trust are committed to working together to ensure the future success of the cardiac surgery unit.
Mr Nowell and the Trust have entered into a private settlement in relation to these matters, the terms of which are confidential.
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr Justin Nowell
