Former surgeon welcomes move to address bullying
Health chiefs approve ‘Healing Process’ in wake of scandal
The approval by health chiefs of a so-called ‘Healing Process’ announced by NHS Highland in the aftermath of a bullying scandal which recently engulfed the organisation, has been welcomed by a former senior surgeon in Lochaber, writes Mark Entwistle.
NHS Highland board last week approved a strategy, developed in close partnership with colleagues, trade unions and whistleblowers in response to the Sturrock Report.
Funded by the Scottish Government, the Healing Process enables former and current employees to access an independent team of advisers including human resources, legal, communications and mediation specialists.
The board also agreed the launch date for the process will be discussed at the end of May to allow the board to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the launch, NHS Highland encourages anyone impacted by bullying and harassment to visit an independent website to help them decide whether or not they wish to access the Healing Process. This includes NHS Highland staff who have worked or are currently working in Argyll and Bute.
David Sedgwick, a retired senior surgeon at the Belford Hospital in Fort William, is among those who have welcomed the latest approval.
Mr Sedgwick told the Lochaber Times: ‘This is a major step forward for everyone concerned. I look forward to seeing the process bear fruit in the lives of those most affected and to bring them closure.’
Brian Devlin, on behalf of the whistleblowers and the group No More Victims, which co-produced the Healing Process, said: ‘I recognise all attention is rightly focused on coronavirus today and I’m conscious of the heroic efforts NHS Highland staff are putting in to treat patients. Nevertheless, this is a milestone moment in NHS Highland for another reason.
‘Today they have shared its document outlining the healing process for the hundreds of staff who have been injured as a consequence of being bullied at work.
‘With the guidance of Health Minister Jeane Freeman MSP, we have a process I am confident victims can trust when it officially launches – once things have changed for the better with the pandemic.
‘The process has involved a group of victims who have suffered enormously from being bullied. Co-production works.
‘There’s a lesson here for all statutory services.’
Professor Boyd Robertson, chairman of NHS Highland, added: ‘As I said last June, when we set out to develop our Healing Process, I and the board, stand four-square behind the victims of bullying and we reaffirm we are deeply sorry for the harm that has been caused to every one of those individuals.’