The story of a Chilean surgeon who escaped fascism
Since escaping the fascist regime in Chile in the 1970s, Milton Peña Vásquez worked in the NHS for 40 years, specialising as an orthopaedic surgeon. He has campaigned tirelessly for safer patient care in hospitals, and in particular has called for legislation on nurse and midwife to patient ratios. He became a whistleblower in 2005, when his concerns over dangerous nurse staffing levels went ignored at Tameside Hospital. The Flight of the Black Necked Swans details his quest for more funding, and to bring about much needed change, in particular regarding avoidable deaths; as well as returning to his roots and reflecting on growing up in Chile, fleeing the coup d’etat, and how a love of mountaineering and trekking has helped provide a balance in his life.
Since escaping the fascist regime in Chile in the 1970s, Milton Peña Vásquez worked in the NHS for 40 years, specialising as an orthopaedic surgeon. He has campaigned tirelessly for safer patient care in hospitals, and in particular has called for legislation on nurse and midwife to patient ratios. He became a whistleblower in 2005, when his concerns over dangerous nurse staffing levels went ignored at Tameside Hospital. The Flight of the Black Necked Swans details his quest for more funding, and to bring about much needed change, in particular regarding avoidable deaths; as well as returning to his roots and reflecting on growing up in Chile, fleeing the coup d’etat, and how a love of mountaineering and trekking has helped provide a balance in his life.
