The BMA’s GP Committee is ‘disgusted’ by reported ‘openly racist’ comments made by the director of TPP and advises practices to ‘consider’ these before signing new contracts.
According to the Guardian, Frank Hester told a 2019 TPP company meeting that Hackney MP Diane Abbott makes you ‘want to hate all black women’ and that she ‘should be shot’.
The GPC voted through an emergency motion in response to the reports at a meeting yesterday, which said it was ‘disgusted by the reported violent, openly racist and misogynistic comments’.
Based on the motion, the GPC also ‘advises GP practices to consider Hester’s comments prior to signing new contracts with TPP’.
Noting that Mr Hester’s comments ‘contravene NHS England’s fit and proper person test framework’, the GPC ‘calls upon UK health boards to apply their own processes vigilantly when contracting external stakeholders whose views and values may not align with the wider professional NHS workforce’.
And finally it ‘believes Frank Hester should resign and hand over his directorship with immediate effect’.
TPP’s product SystmOne is one of the two leading patient consultation computer systems used by more than 2,700 GP practices across England.
GPC UK co-chairs Dr Alan Stout and Dr Andrew Buist said: ‘This emergency motion makes clear how appalled GPs are.
‘There is no room for racism or sexism in the NHS, and the committee believes he should resign his position with immediate effect.’
Pulse has contacted TPP for comment.
According to the Guardian a statement from TPP said Mr Hester ‘accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin’.
The Conservative Party has been urged to return at least £10m recently donated by Mr Hester to aid its general election campaign.
The GPC motion in full
That this meeting is disgusted by the reported violent, openly racist and misogynistic comments, made by Frank Hester, director of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), and directed at the Rt Hon Ms Diane Abbott MP and:
- notes that his comments contravene NHS England’s fit and proper person test framework introduced in response to the 2019 Kark Review recommendations, taking into account CQC requirements in relation to directors.
- calls upon UK health boards to apply their own processes vigilantly when contracting external stakeholders whose views and values may not align with the wider professional NHS workforce
- advises GP practices to consider Hester’s comments prior to signing new contracts with TPP
- believes Frank Hester should resign and handover his directorship with immediate effect
Source: BMA
READERS' COMMENTS [3]
Please note, only GPs are permitted to add comments to articles
Not really very practical suggestion. Migrating computer system is a huge amount of work.
The Guardian reported Mr Hester spoke at TPP’s headquarters, which overlooks the railway line in Horsforth, Leeds, and asked if there was “no room for the Indians, then?” before adding: “Climb on the roof, like on the roof of the train there maybe?”
The publication said he also spoke about an upcoming work trip, saying: “I’m looking forward to going to Malaysia, so that I can make new jokes – I don’t know any jokes about Malaysian people but I’m sure we’ll find them.”
He is alleged to have then spoken about how staff should be able to “joke” and “tease” each other “in a loving way” before adding: “I think we all know the difference between a racial slur and perhaps ‘Asian corner’, which is still going on here today.”
The thick knob hasn’t yet realised that his bowel is for evacuating shit not his mouth – Hey, I’m just teasing him in a loving way….