Jacob Williams https://jacobwilliams.com

Opinion Research Services Limited, the specialist social research company hired by the Hywel Dda Health Board to conduct the ‘listening exercise’ for its controversial ‘Your Health, Your Future’ consultation over future healthcare reform, has settled its ‘defamation’ dispute with the Hywel Dda Community Health Council and its two most senior members.

The news was exclusively revealed on this website back in March, that ORS had sent a solicitors’ letter to the Hywel Dda Community Health Council, and both its Chairman, Tony Wales, and Vice Chair, Dr. Gabrielle Heathcote.

The CHC, which is the patients’ watchdog, provides the ‘patients’ voice’ in health-related matters, and one of its functions is the ability to refer proposals by the Health Board to the Welsh Assembly Health Minister.

The CHC did just that, through a formal document submitted in February this year, and it was some of the content within the referral document that ORS took great exception to, claiming that it was libellous.

Solicitors acting for ORS sent a stiff letter to the CHC claiming that the offending comments were “false and seriously damaging,” a “very serious distortion of the factual position,” and “ORS will not stand for it.”

The letter demanded an unreserved apology, a full retraction of the allegedly defamatory comments, and the payment of legal fees, warning that ORS had a “determination to clear its name” which was “genuine and strong,” and that there should be “no doubt” that legal action would be pursued if the conditions weren’t met.

A mole made sure this letter reached JW, and the proverbial ‘scoop’ soon hit the headlines, or, as ORS might put it, the proverbial hit the fan.

The big stink that followed in nearly all of the newspapers within Hywel Dda’s area revolved around the notion that ORS were deploying bully-boy tactics. ORS was unequivocal that it was rightfully defending its good reputation from an unwarranted attack, in comments to the Llanelli Star newspaper, in an article that was published when Llanelli’s Labour AM and MP jumped on the legal revelation as a political opportunity, and arranged for a protest to be held outside the ORS headquarters in Swansea.

Some months went by without any publicised developments, but it didn’t pass JW’s notice that, without any fanfare, the CHC revised the wording of its referral document on its website. In doing so, the offending parts were removed and an explanatory statement was added referring to a ‘representation’ from ORS.

According to one of my moles, this withered olive branch wasn’t enough for ORS, and just over a month ago I reported that things had still not been settled and the threat of legal action still loomed, with numerous legal letters travelling back and forth.

It now appears that the CHC has fallen on its sword. And, what a sharp sword it appears to have been. A joint statement issued by the two parties reveals that ORS thought the CHC’s referral document suggested that “the consultation findings were deliberately misreported” by ORS.

The statement says: “The CHC wishes to make very clear that it does not doubt the conduct of ORS in any way. It obviously regrets if any of the statements in its Referral could be construed as criticism of ORS and it unequivocally withdraws them.”

The statement also reassures us that there is no link between the outcomes of the consultation and the integrity of ORS, and, for good measure, both parties clarify that “throughout its work in Hywel Dda, ORS operated to the highest standards, and the CHC is glad to confirm that this fact is not, and never has been, in contention.”

For the patient watchdog’s part, the statement says that: “The CHC remains very concerned about aspects of the LHB’s proposals, and about the way in which the LHB defined and responded to the consultation: these are matters of proper public debate and deserve serious consideration.”

It would seem a little too late for these matters to be ‘publicly debated,’ and quite who the CHC thinks will be doing the serious consideration, tickled JW. After all, isn’t the CHC supposed to be ‘the patient watchdog?’ All bark and no bite!

ORS has ended all legal action.