Hundreds of doctors are ‘bullied or harassed’...

HUNDREDS of doctors at Staffordshire’s main hospital have experienced bullying or harassment, a survey has revealed.

Race was the most common reason why victims were targeted, according to the survey undertaken at the University Hospitals of North Midlands, while religion and gender were also frequently cited.

A ‘significant number’ of doctors reported that bullying or harassment had impacted on their mental or physical health.

Union representatives are now set to meet managers to discuss the findings, with survey respondents calling for bullies to be removed from leadership roles and for the trust to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ approach – although UHNM insists this is already its stance on the issue.

Members of the medical staff committee (MSC) carried out the survey in partnership with the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

A total of 348 junor and senior doctors took part in the anonymous survey, equating to around 30 per cent of the doctor workforce.

Sixty-three per cent said they had experienced discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation in the workplace, while 78 per cent said they had witnessed such behaviour.

Nearly half of respondents said they had not reported incidents due to ‘fear of victimisation or retribution,’ while just over half said they feared managers would not offer them support.

Thirty-seven per cent said bullying or harassment had affected their mental health, with a quarter saying it had impacted on both their physical and mental health.

The survey results are included in the latest newsletter from the local negotiating committee, which represents the British Medical Association at UHNM.

The report states: “The feedback from the comments made for some difficult reading.

“Senior medical managers (divisional chairs and above) were personally named or identified more than 20 times in a negative light.

“Consultants unfortunately bullying junior doctors was mentioned a couple of times.

“Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the comments was the feeling of futility that any positive outcomes could come about from this.”

But the LNC newsletter notes that, as the survey was anonymous, it is impossible to know how many of the issues raised by respondents amounted to genuine bullying.

It states: “Ultimately, however, a large number of senior doctors have taken the time to complete this questionnaire and raised a lot of questions for both the trust and us, as doctors, to reflect upon.

“Although senior medical managers, from within the free-text sections, have received a considerable amount of flak with the questionnaire results, the bullying by rank and file doctors on each other was far from an uncommon source.”

Dr John Oxtoby UHNM medical director, said he was ‘disappointed’ by the survey’s findings, but insisted that allegations of bullying and harassment were taken seriously by the trust.

He said: “I am disappointed to see feedback of this kind from our doctors, and I will take this survey as an opportunity to continue to drive further improvement.

“We already have zero tolerance to bullying, and investigate all allegations rigorously.”