Stoke Mandeville Hospital bosses have spoken in public for the first time about the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.
The Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust has come under increasing pressure since the scandal broke at the beginning of October with 16 cases of sex abuse at the hospital being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
Speaking at the Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust board meeting earlier this week, chairman of the board Fred Ducker said: “It has been a huge concern to this organisation.
“It came out about the same week as I was in post. I know the work across the trust has been a huge effort.
“It’s absolutely crucial that we celebrate the Paralympics rather than this stuff.”
The trust has received more than 5,000 media calls regarding Savile compared to approximately 4,000 on the Paralympics.
It has now set up its own inquiry into the claims.
Chief executive Anne Eden said: “We are working to get to the bottom of the allegations and the culture that prevailed at the time.”
She added the trust had contacted the independent Bucks Safeguarding Boards to ensure that ‘what allegedly happened in the 70s and 80s could not happen in 2012’.
The trust is also setting up a new panel to further investigate the scandal which will mostly be made up of external people with care and senior heath backgrounds. It will be led by non-executive director Keith Gilchrist.
Ms Eden declined an interview with The Bucks Herald.
