Michael Swinn

"Mike and I both spent our research years at the Mecca of Uro-Neurology, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. We were well trained and many years later can reflect on how we have enjoyed our successful careers. At least that is what I thought until I read this book!
I found it extremely painful to read of the trials and tribulations of a successful surgeon and the surrounding team doing their best in a system that had lost its focus on patients. What troubled me most were the many sleepless nights that were endured and the effect of that on the mind and body of a surgeon while juggling the additional roles of administrator and family man.
There are many important lessons to learn from this book, which I recommend most sincerely. Please read it, reflect on it and learn from it. I most certainly have.
Finally, it takes considerable bravery to lay your heart open to the world. Mike is to be congratulated for doing that with grace, honesty and dignity."

Professor Prokar Dasgupta OBE MD FRCS, Professor of Robotic Surgery and Urological Innovation, King's Health Partners

"The extraordinary thing about Mike Swinn's book is that it isn't extraordinary. It is believable and recognisable; a healthcare tale that really belongs on the shelves marked "horror" or "crime"."

Mr Tim O'Brien MA DM FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and former President of the British Association of Urological Surgeons

"Whistle-blowing in the NHS is sadly a very risky thing to do and it takes an exceptional person with enormous courage, integrity and dedication to do it, and to keep going for over a decade. Mike has all these qualities in abundance and it has been a privilege to work with him for the last twenty years."

Fellow whistle-blower, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

"The current run of NHS scandals shows no sign of abating, with the Nottingham midwifery inquiry ongoing, the Thirlwall and Lampard inquiries due to commence shortly and further disturbing reports from Birmingham, Sussex, Newcastle and so on. In this context Michael Swinn's welcome new whistle-blowing book and Steve Bolsin's introduction both serve to remind us how little progress has been made with NHS safeguarding and speaking up over the last quarter century, and how much further we still have to go to render our NHS a safe place for staff and patients alike."

Peter Duffy FRCS MD MBE, ex-Consultant Urological Surgeon and Chair of the Healthcare group, WhistleblowersUK

"As a colleague in the same department, I witnessed the whole episode from start to finish and Mike needs to be thanked. Despite unhelpful managers, he managed to bring about an end to practices which were harming patients, while all the time preserving excellent working relationships with all parties, and carrying out his clinical responsibilities in an exemplary manner. In this book he identifies the weaknesses in the various NHS systems and processes he came across, dissecting them down to the bone like an expert in anatomy and his recommendations need to be taken on board."

Mr Mushtaq Shuja FRCS Dip Urology, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

"This 'unputdownable', well written book is a tough read on the pitfalls of being an NHS whistle-blower. It is shocking to hear how hard Michael had to push against so much resistance to be listened to in order to keep patients safe, and sad to hear of the huge personal cost. My practice as an NHS GP has already changed in response to reading this book and I would highly recommend it."

Dr Charlie Woodhams, GP

"An absolute page turner and utterly compelling, Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall highlights the perils of becoming a whistle-blower in the NHS and how the system needs to improve. Essential reading for all hospital doctors and managers"

Professor Stephen Langley MS FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

"Patient C was my husband; a kind, gentle and generous man who did not get to see our boys' marriages, successful careers or the birth of our grandson. We owe Mr Mike Swinn a debt of gratitude for his immense integrity and persistence in raising patient safety concerns. The negative reactions he faced deeply impacted both him and his family. As a former nurse I ask that every NHS service manager, clinician and board member read this book and act on its recommendations. It is sadly too late for our family but the issues he raises are a matter of life and death."

Widow of Patient C

"I have had the privilege of working with Mike as a Consultant colleague for two decades now. In this very well written and emotive book he eloquently describes his role in the battles we faced for more than half of that time in trying our best to protect our patients. We should all look at learning the lessons that the events in this book teach us."

Professor Abhay Rane OBE FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

"Michael Swinn undoubtedly saved lives by his struggle to get his concerns heard and if senior Trust executives learn from his experience and implement his recommendations, the impact on patient safety will be felt right across the NHS."

Lorcan Woods, Former Chief Financial Officer, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

"To be confronted by outdated and self-protective attitudes may have come as a shock to Michael Swinn in his capacity as a Consultant Urologist working in the NHS, but I have encountered them all my life in professional football. We owe patients in the NHS, and those playing the national sport, a duty of care when they enter into our arenas and fail them when we don't.
I would like to thank Michael Swinn for sticking his head above the parapet and exposing practices that have no place in a modern sophisticated health service that claims to be the best in the world. We need more like him."

Garth Crooks OBE, former Chairman of the Professional Footballers Association

"I found reading this very troubling. As a former hospital Consultant, it had not occurred to me that management would not move things on if you reported something serious that needed changing. As I continued to read I couldn't believe how the saga went on and on for years, until ultimately the Trust declared the person seeking to put things right, an offender. But he stuck it out until the truth finally emerged.
In my opinion Michael Swinn emerges as a complete hero. And so now I believe the recommendations he makes for change, which include regulating hospital administrator training, should be examined very carefully by whoever the authorities are that can improve the situation, so that nothing similar ever happens again."

Professor Clare Fowler CBE, , former Professor of Uro-Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

"Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall is a heart-felt and harrowing account of one person's struggle to keep patients at the centre of good medical practice, even when the system was constantly working against them. It is a 'must read' for all medical students to empower them to be advocates for patient safety and speakers of truth to power should they ever find themselves in a similar situation."

Professor Claire Sharpe, Dean of Education, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham

"This book is not just about the NHS. There are crucial messages here that must be adopted across all sectors. An organisation which does not have a mature approach to whistle-blowing will never be a place where people thrive, develop and enjoy their work. Tolerance of toxic behaviour or incompetence destroys culture."

Christopher Brocklesby, new Chief Transformation Officer, Post Office LTD