One in four NHS trust staff has experience of bullying

ALMOST ONE in four hospital staff say they have experienced bullying by co-workers at Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust.

A survey carried out by the trust, which runs Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury Hospitals, found 24 per cent of workers had experienced some form of bullying or harassment from someone within the organisation.

A similar number, 26 per cent, said they had suffered bullying or harassment from patients, relatives or members of the public.

The figures were revealed in an NHS scrutiny report, which also showed that 11 per cent had suffered some form of discrimination at work during the past year.

In the report, the trust says: “On a number of key questions our trust ranks at the bottom or near the bottom compared to our peers. We therefore have much work to do to make our trust the place to work which we all want it to be.

“Action plans will be developed with staff in the coming year to address the key issues.”

The trust has recruited a ‘freedom to speak up guardian’ to listen to any concerns raised anonymously by workers. A total of 131 reports were made to the guardian between December 2016 and December 2017, the same report revealed.

The issues raised include concerns about quality of care, the way medicines are fed to patients and bullying among staff.

UNISON regional branch secretary Adrian O’Malley said bullying was an issue but that management took concerns “seriously”.

Angela Wilkinson, of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The trust has extended opportunities for staff to report incidents of bullying and harassment such as the appointment of a full-time Freedom to Speak up Guardian supported by 12 Champions, along with an anonymous Raising Concerns e-mail directly to the chief executive.”