Derriford staff: "Demoralised" at attacks by doctor

Professor Keith Greene, a consultant at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, fought the general election on a platform of concern about NHS standards.

But he has continued to voice his worries about cleanliness at the hospital and the adverse impact of targets on patient care.

Staff say they are fed up and Mr Greene's attacks are unfair.

They staged a short demonstration of solidarity at the hospital on Wednesday following a team briefing when staff voiced their concerns.

We are tired of the negative publicity being generated by one man Staff statement

They said in a statement: "We are proud of our hospital and the care that we give to patients.

"We know this hospital is not perfect and there are things we need to improve on, such as cleanliness, and the managers and staff are working on those.

"There is much still to be done but we have got a really exciting future ahead of us."

Professor Keith Greene: "Many staff" concerned

They pointed to reduced waiting times, falling MRSA rates and a doubling of consultant numbers in the past five years.

In seven years, waiting for heart surgery has come down from 18 months to three months and the wait for cataract operations has been halved.

They said: "We are tired of the negative publicity being generated by one man.

"It is very demoralising for us and in the work we try to do for patients.

"Mr Greene is one consultant amongst many who is not speaking on behalf of the majority of staff in this trust."

Mr Greene told the BBC that he was "saddened" that this was being portrayed as a "one man crusade".

He said in his experience "many staff" were worried about cleanliness at the hospital.

Mr Greene also said he wanted to emphasise that he was "not trying to denigrate staff who do a great job in difficult conditions" but said "ultimately it was up to the community to decide for themselves" whether to hospital was being kept adequately clean.

The hospital trust's medical director has conceded that government targets have created pressures, but they have slashed hospital waiting times.