NHS is accused over special report
NHS Lothian bosses have been accused of lacking transparency after a report over a West Lothian hospital appears to have been buried.
The report, which criticises certain staff practices on the Baillie Ward at Tippethill Hospital in Armadale, was uncovered last week.
An investigation was carried out into the hospital after student nurses, concerned by abuses they had seen at the hospital, became whistleblowers following their placement last March.
However, the report into the investigation only came to light last week thanks to The Times newspaper with Neil Findlay, Labour MSP for Lothian, accusing NHS chiefs of “burying bad news”.
Mr Findlay said: “The situation that emerged at Tippethill Hospital last year is a disgrace. The fact the public were not informed of this until now raises serious questions about NHS Governance. I will be putting it to NHS Lothian that this was raised last year by whistleblowers and that they have done nothing to inform the public in that time. The report was discovered by a journalist leafing through Health Board reports, had that not happened we may have never heard about it.
“That is unacceptable. If people’s loved ones are being put at risk then the public have a right to know what has happened and action is being taken.
“It shouldn’t be down to student whistleblowers to expose such wrong doing.”
Fiona Hyslop, SNP MSP for Linlithgow, said: “This is a very serious situation and I have written to the chief executive of NHS Lothian expressing my concerns and seeking clarification as to the action plan being implemented for the ward and hospital to move forward. It is essential that patients and families are reassured at the current time and I know that many of my constituents’ relatives have received great care in the past. This situation highlights the importance of effective whistleblowing procedures and the need for transparency for patients and staff.”
NHS Lothian said that concerns raised about the ward were taken seriously from the beginning.
Jim Crombie, deputy chief executive, NHS Lothian, said: “The behaviour of certain staff at Baillie Ward, Tippethill House, was wholly unacceptable and is completely at odds with our values of care and compassion, dignity and respect and quality. We offer our unreserved apology to the patients concerned and to their families. We are also grateful to the whistleblowers for having the courage to raise their concerns, relating to leadership, values and safe and effective person-centred care, and we are encouraged that they felt able to do so.
“We took their concerns seriously from the outset, when they were raised last year, and commissioned an independent review using NHS Lothian’s Whistleblowing Policy. The concerns were upheld and as a result we created an urgent Improvement Plan for the Baillie Ward. A dedicated multi-disciplinary improvement board was then set up to provide ongoing scrutiny and oversight to ensure the plan was implemented effectively. We also kept the whistleblowers informed and updated throughout the investigation and until the improvements were completed. This behaviour falls well below the standard we expect of our staff. Action has been taken under NHS Lothian’s Employee Conduct Policy and that has now been completed. Improvement plans have also been put in place as a result.”