Gag clauses silence harassed NHS staff
THE NHS is using non-disclosure agreements (NDAS) to silence staff who complain of sexual harassment and bullying at work, it has emerged.
University Hospital Southampton NHS trust and the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS foundation trust handed out six gagging agreements in the past five years, a Freedom of Information request revealed.
Figures also showed that the numbers of doctors accused of bullying and sexually harassing colleagues rose nearly 40 per cent since 2013-14. Previously, the NHS has used NDAS to stop whistle-blowers from raising patient safety concerns but it is the first time confidentiality agreements have emerged relating to harassment.
The Daily Telegraph has been campaigning to prevent the actions of rich and powerful individuals and organisations being hidden by NDAS.
University Hospital Southampton said its agreements related to settlement terms and didn’t stop individuals highlighting issues of public interest.
Dr Neil Pease, executive director of workforce and organisational development at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, added: “There are times when both the trust and a member of staff may want to keep details relating to sensitive employment matters private.”
A British Medical Association (BMA) spokesman said: “By their very nature, we do not know why these agreements have been reached, but we would be concerned by any process by which transparency is compromised, disincentivising further victims of bullying and harassment from coming forward.
“If the health service is to learn from its mistakes, it is crucial that complaints are dealt with in the most open way possible.” The number of incidents of bullying and sexual harassment rose from 420 in 2013-14 to 585 in 2017-18.
However, research from the BMA found that the problem was likely to be far greater. In a survey of nearly 8,000 doctors, one in five said they had been bullied at work. While two in five said it was a problem in their workplace.
Dr Anthea Mowat, BMA representative body chairman, described the latest figures as the “tip of the iceberg”.
“It is essential that solutions are put in place immediately to eradicate unacceptable behaviour,” she said
London’s Royal Free Hospital was the worst, with 160 complaints of bullying over a five-year period.
A spokesman for the Royal Free said that new policies to encourage staff to speak out against harassment may have led to the high numbers.
Last year, figures showed that bullying and harassment in the NHS could be costing taxpayers more than £2billion per year in England alone.
The study, published in the journal Public Money and Management, used data from NHS Digital to gauge the impact of bullying on sickness absence, employee turnover, productivity and employment relations.