Hospital bosses told to tackle ‘bullying’
NHS chiefs have been urged to tackle a “bullying culture” at three crisis-hit hospitals. Officials at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS trust were found to have failed to act appropriately over allegations of safety concerns.
NHS CHIEFS have been urged to tackle a “bullying culture” at three crisis-hit hospitals in the region.
Officials at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS trust have been given until the end of the month to draw up a plan after a review found managers had failed to act appropriately over allegations of serious safety concerns. A bullying culture was also uncovered which left some staff “fear the consequences of speaking up”.
A series of 23 recommendations have been made by the National Guardian’s Office for improvements at the trust, which regulators last year put back in special measures amid serious concerns including higher-thanexpected death rates, mounting waits for treatment, major staff shortages and a worsening financial crisis.
The review was triggered by concerns about the working culture at the trust raised both by regulators and in anonymous complaints by staff to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) including high-profile claims said to be from an unnamed senior manager also sent to local MPs last June.
Officials spoke to staff who complained of bullying including one who said a senior manager had created a “toxic work environment” and would “shout, swear and talk condescendingly to colleagues”, making it clear they should not speak out.
The complainant had raised concerns with managers but nothing had been done by the trust until the worker contacted the CQC.
Henrietta Hughes, National Guardian for the NHS, a role created in the wake of the Mid Staffordshire scandal to encourage staff to speak up over concerns, said: “Our review found that the trust had failed to respond appropriately, including where staff had raised serious safety issues.
“We also found evidence of the existence of bullying in the trust and a bullying culture within specific teams that made workers fear the consequences of speaking up.”
The investigation found there was no specific training for staff on how to speak up, for managers to support people speaking up or how to handle issues raised. The trust’s speaking-up policy did not meet minimum standards, while its bullying and harassment procedures needed updating.
It had appointed a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian to provide independent support for the trust’s 6,500 staff but in a “significant omission”, the trust had failed to make the role known to those who wanted to speak up.
Staff were also warned they could only speak to outside regulators after they had exhausted internal procedures, which placed an “improper restriction” on speaking up, said the Guardian’s review.
Several senior managers described the speaking-up culture to investigators “as ‘very poor’ and ‘deeply unhealthy’, where workers were often afraid to speak up because of ‘an autocratic management style’”, and blamed a “historic bullying culture” for creating obstacles towards a positive working environment.
Officials found some changes had been made amid a recognition by managers “urgent improvement” was needed at the trust, which runs hospitals in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole, as well as community health services.
Peter Reading, the trust’s chief executive since August, said: “We are keen to learn from the report findings to help us strengthen our approach to speaking up.”
He added: “We want to ensure that where staff do speak up they feel listened to, taken seriously and their concerns are acted upon.”