Herein lies a ‘David vs Goliath’ story of my efforts to expose the innermost failings of one of the most revered and respected university teaching hospitals in the UK. It describes the emotional impact of being a whistleblower; what whistleblowing does to you and in my case how I was saved by philosophical sayings and a fridge.
When does truth become lie, good become bad, incompetence surmount intelligence? All too often in the modern world our best institutions — conceived with the best intentions — are embroiled in a scandalous cronyism and inadequacy that races to the very heart and height of the leadership that, ironically, was put in place to protect and nurture it. Meritocracy was lost; excellence sacrificed, the average (or worse) became the norm. Business came before education. Students and patients sufferings fell on deaf ears. Complaints were buried. Teaching staff demoralised and despondent.
Would you do it? Whistleblow? Stand against your peers, put your career on the line, take on the fight? Think carefully. The repercussions are huge, the process long. Mentally, financially and physically it stretched me in every which way. Was it worth it?
Inspiration during the hardest experience of my entire life came from the most unlikely of places… unexpected places! — providing the courage and resilience to carry on. I could have eaten my way through a bad patch, but instead the doors of the family fridge became the place where I wrote down quotations and ideas which gave me inner strength. Hence: the Philosophy Fridge. If you want it to, this book could be the instrument of your liberation.
