Concerned hospice worker ‘was sacked’
A GROUP of workers at Our Lady’s Hospice have claimed that a colleague was sacked after raising concerns about financial irregularities at the charity.
Since last year the workers – represented by workplace wellness consultant Stephanie Regan – have repeatedly sought to bring bullying concerns to the attention of Health Minister Simon Harris, the HSE and the board of the hospice.
Ms Regan – a psychotherapist and one-time Fine Gael candidate – has previously worked to address bullying at State organisations.
However, to date, the hospice, the HSE and the minister have refused – on technical grounds – to accept a protected disclosure made by Ms Regan on behalf of the publicly funded charity’s workers.
The group includes one worker whose previous whistleblowing disclosures led to a HSE audit that uncovered irregularities.
These included a hospice-owned house in Spain that had been sold to a family friend of the then financial director, Denis Maguire, for a fraction of its true value.
Although the matter is still under Garda investigation, Our Lady’s Hospice this week settled a High Court case against Mr Maguire – sacked in 2016 – after it recouped €200,000.
Last night, Ms Regan told the Irish Mail on Sunday the settlement had done nothing to reassure those she represents who are fearful to express concerns internally. She said: ‘Management are close and it seems to be about keeping things quiet – settling things – but the staff have nowhere to go to.’
Ms Regan’s original disclosure was sent to hospice chairperson Seán Benton in February 2018. It outlined the group’s concerns about a ‘hostile system of management’.
Ms Regan’s disclosure added that ‘complaints are sometimes orchestrated against staff members who may express a view that management object to’.
The disclosure also raised staff concerns that ‘management are
overly close and that this interconnectedness of management closes off avenues of support for staff.’ In addition, the disclosure informed the board that ‘a senior person, known to bully, who… has workplace control over others, is tolerated and thus allowed to abuse that power, causing boycotts, mobbing and isolation of those who speak out or who stand against this person.’ The disclosure added that because of this ‘hostile atmosphere’ staff were fearful to ‘speak openly without fear of reprisal’.
However, the hospice refused to accept Ms Regan’s disclosure on technical grounds, claiming it was not valid since it had not been made by an employee.
In the following months, the HSE too rejected the disclosure on the same grounds.
Then, in November 2018, a Siptu shop steward, who had referenced the financial irregularities uncovered by the HSE audit in a meeting with management, was sacked. That person is now taking an unfair dismissals case against Our Lady’s Hospice. Ms Regan wrote to Mr Harris in November last year, stating that ‘group members and many more staff members [contend] that this action by management is directly related to the fact that he asked some questions internally regarding the audit, prior to it coming into the public domain’, adding ‘it is their view that complaints have been fabricated against this man’. She added that ‘the delay in dealing with this matter has cost this man his livelihood’. Ms Regan said the hospice, the HSE and Mr Harris had not acted in the spirit of legislation intended to help whistleblowers.
‘There was a lack of sincerity,’ she said.
‘This orchestration of complaints against people who seem to be raising any questions – that’s an extremely toxic situation.’
Last night, a hospice spokesman confirmed the board had received Ms Regan’s disclosure but reiterated that the charity did not accept that it constituted a valid protected disclosure.
It advised that ‘the internal staff grievance procedure [via ‘established recognised representation’] was the appropriate route for the correspondence’ before an external investigation if required.
The spokesman added that Our Lady’s Hospice ‘cannot comment on any individual personnel HR matters’.
However, the MoS understands that the hospice does not accept that anyone was sacked or bullied for raising concerns about financial irregularities.
A Department of Health spokesman said the minister does not comment on matters that may be the subject of a protected disclosure.
Internal procedure the ‘appropriate route’