NHS bullying victim says complaints were ignored
A FORMER senior manager who worked at Raigmore Hospital for more than a decade has branded the treatment of NHS Highland staff a "national disgrace".
He said he even considered suicide after complaining about alleged systemic bullying within the organisation, and claimed he was bullied after raising the issues with senior management.
His disturbing revelations come just a week after four clinicians published an open letter which alleged a culture of fear and intimidation at NHS Highland which they say has been going on for more than a decade.
Since their damning accusations were made public, NHS Highland has launched a temporary confidential helpline for staff who feel they have been a victim of bullying at work.
The former Raigmore manager is among several who have come forward to say they thought about suicide after suffering intimidation in the workplace.
"There was no inquiry," he said. "I was told I would have to leave my job. I was taken out of contact with people and given a role beneath people I previously managed, given jobs to do significantly below my grade.
"I went to as many people as I possibly could to complain."
Another former member of staff at Raigmore who held a senior role said: "I became physically ill as a result of bullying.
"I was threatened, intimidated and undermined. I sought union representation which informed me that NHS Highland were continuously monitored due to the bullying culture.
"I left the NHS after a long period of service because of my experience at NHS Highland."
A female employee – who still works for NHS Highland – said: "I’ve been the victim of bullying and have seen and heard from others about their experiences.
"Bullies are never questioned about their behaviour by management. Instead, they’re moved to another department to continue picking on weaker employees.
"It’s not only doctors and nurses who are subjected to bullying, it also happens to admin staff, secretaries, domestic staff and porter staff. It’s not all at a ‘medical level’.
"Hopefully this whole nest of bullies will be weeded out and fired."
Dr Iain Kennedy, one of the whistle-blowing clinicians, said more people were bringing examples of bullying to him every day and their stories were distressing.
"There are severe cases of psychiatric injury, post traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideas," he said.
"These are stressful for us all to hear and it is clear that the situation is far, far worse than anyone had realised.
"The most striking feature of all the bullied victims is the sense of isolation. Each victim thought they were alone when in fact there were many staff being targeted at the same time over a number of years."
When asked about provisions for former employees, a spokeswoman for NHS Highland said its immediate priority was its existing workforce and that a "process for ex-employees will be clarified in due course".
Regional MSP Edward Mountain said a "fully independent inquiry" would be the only way to get to the bottom of the problems.
"Bullying creates a culture of fear which is hard to break if it is investigated by the organisation that harbours the bullies," he said.
CHIEFS at NHS Highland are urgently seeking a meeting with the four doctors who published the damning diagnosis of an alleged bullying regime within the organisation.
Health board chairman David Alston wants to speak to the group that chose to go public with concerns in the wake of a critical governance review of NHS Highland commissioned by ministers.
Mr Alston said: "It is two weeks since we first offered to meet to understand details of the concerns raised by the four clinicians. Given they raised issues about patient safety through the media, this is concerning to us.
"Initially the clinicians delayed any such meeting until a meeting with professional reps of the British Medical Association had occurred. That was on Tuesday and our information received last night indicates that they remain unprepared to meet until they have met with NHS Scotland officials."
The health authority has now set up a temporary confidential helpline for people who think they have been the victim of bullying at work.
Mr Alston added: "Clearly we want to support any member of staff working for us who has concerns about bullying in whatever form. I hope the helpline is a welcome and positive step to support this. I reiterate our position that we also respect the right of any staff member to raise any concerns in the way they feel most appropriate for them."
A public inquiry into alleged bullying within NHS Highland could be sought.
A spokeswoman for the GMB union said: "On Tuesday a meeting was held to allow some of the people affected by a longstanding bullying culture at NHS Highland to meet the doctors who recently acted as whistle-blowers.
"Following the open letter last week, many people have stepped forward to endorse the concerns that were raised.
"With no faith that the existing senior leadership team of NHS Highland will bring resolution, it has been proposed that a group meet with the Scottish Government to discuss options for a public inquiry."
Dr Iain Kennedy, one of the whistle-blowing clinicians, said the first time all four of the writers of the open letter were invited to a meeting with NHS Highland was last Friday, and not two weeks ago.
He said: "However, this is but a mere distraction from an extremely serious bullying culture the health board will need to admit to and start addressing to regain the confidence of staff, patients and the public."
A Scottish Government spokesman said it was writing to Dr Kennedy and the GMB’s Liz Gordon to try and arrange a meeting with senior officials from NHS Scotland to discuss these issues "more fully".
It comes as Scotland’s financial watchdog added to NHS Highland’s woes, saying she had serious doubts about its ability to make millions of pounds’ worth of savings in order to balance its books.
The board has projected a black hole of at least £19 million this year. Auditor General Caroline Gardner has reported to the Scottish Government on the dilemmas facing both Highland and the Ayrshire and Arran boards, with the latter facing an estimated £22.4 million budget gap.
She said: "I have serious reservations about their ability to make the changes that are needed to achieve financial balance in future."
A spokeswoman for the board said: "Our financial challenges have been widely reported and we continue to work closely with the Scottish Government as we develop plans to return to financial balance."
