Hospital staff say they have had to quit jobs because of bullying
FORMER Derby and Burton hospital staff say they have been reduced to tears and quit their jobs as a result of bullying and harassment from colleagues.
Earlier this month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported how 30% of black and minority ethnic staff at the hospital trust and 25% of white employees, who responded to a work survey, said they had suffered bullying from their colleagues.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged the problem, saying it is trying to change this culture, stop bullying and encourage victims to speak out without fear of recourse.
In response to that article, a number of former hospital staff, some of whom left the trust several years ago, spoke on condition of anonymity.
They claimed bullying at the trust was “endemic”, has been “rife” for a long time, was a culture at the trust and that bullying concerns were swept under the carpet.
Some said their experiences came down to one-to-one situations while others were insistent it was widespread and staff often trudged on with their work and tried to ignore the “belittling” behaviour of their own colleagues.
Amanda Rawlings, the trust’s director of people and organisational development, previously told the LDRS that openness was a key value of the trust and that staff were encouraged to speak up about bullying and can do so in confidence.
She said none of the trust’s staff should ever have to tolerate any kind of bullying while at work.
Gavin Boyle, the trust’s chief executive, said it was hard to read comments made by former staff about bullying and that it has no place in the organisation.
A former member of staff at Royal Derby Hospital who left last year due to bullying, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Staff that were enthusiastic and polite were made to feel inferior by more senior staff with belittling comments.
“I was segregated from staff groups and refused to be spoken to for wanting to progress and improve above long-standing staff.
“I was made to feel like my experience and training was irrelevant and received passive aggressive comments from different areas when handing over relevant information about patient care.
“Values and behaviours around bullying, particularly in my department, were escalated by external services and wards to my senior and this was never really followed up through the correct procedure as this would have resulted in dismissal of certain staff.
“There were just comments such as ‘that’s just what they’re like’ and ‘take it with a pinch of salt’. I tried to discipline some of those bullying myself but was secluded myself as a result. Many staff left the trust because they felt the atmosphere was a difficult environment to work in, as did I.
“It’s a caring environment and you expect to receive that from your colleagues as well. The workload and pressures were not an excuse for the behaviour. I hope it has improved but I am aware that it is still the same from old colleagues still working there. “I do want to say that my experience in no way reflects the care that patients received by any member of staff in that trust.”
I was bullied out of my dream job by a senior member of staff.
Former hospital worker
A former member of staff, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “I’m so glad I left. I couldn’t take the bullying or lack of professionalism within the department.
“There wasn’t any support from higher members or senior staff who just swept it under the carpet.”
Another former member of staff said: “I also experienced it [bullying] first-hand and eventually left. I know a fair few others that have, too.”
A fourth former staff member said: “I was very bullied out of my dream job by a senior member of staff. In the end I left, it was that bad.”
A further former member of staff said: “When I reported the treatment I received from my manager, I was informed that this was my manager’s type of management. Fortunately I was in a position to leave. Bullying has always been endemic at The Royal.”
Other former members of staff claimed there were “plenty of bullies” at the Royal Derby Hospital, claiming the HR department sides with managers over other staff and alleging “nothing is done” in response to bullying when concerns are raised.
A survey filled out last year by nearly half of the trust’s 13,000 staff found that 30% of black and minority ethnic staff and 25% of white staff said they had faced harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues in the previous 12 months.
A member of the public, responding to the LDRS article on that survey, said: “I personally witnessed a member of staff bullying another yesterday and also heard that same member of staff saying derogatory things about the other staff member to his colleagues. This was all in front of myself as a patient. Not a great look.”
Another former patient said: “I saw it [bullying] myself last year. A young nurse was crying, asking for a transfer. The other female nurses were saying she was too sensitive. There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive.”
Further former patients claimed they had seen a nurse in tears in front of other patients.
Several members of the public responded to the LDRS article to say staff were “excellent” and did not deserve to be treated badly, that they are “absolutely awesome, totally dedicated and putting their own lives at risk for the rest of us” and are “grateful to each and every single one of them for continuing one of the hardest jobs at one of the hardest of times”.
Papers published by the trust showed the number of staff reporting bullying and harassment concerns linked to their own colleagues had increased dramatically during the pandemic.
There were also issues reported around staff facing direct consequences from their managers for reporting their concerns.
They also showed staff have been raising concerns about bullying and harassment from their own colleagues for a long time and that the issue was not a new one.
In the past six months, three staff members have reported “perceived detriment” as a result of speaking up about their concerns.
This includes being “told off” for doing so; “being ignored”and left out of meetings and communications; and being put on a performance plan soon after.
Despite this, data for the first six months of the year shows that nearly 120 members of staff have felt confident enough to raise concerns about bullying and harassment. This is a huge increase from 50 in the first six months of 2019 and fewer than 20 in 2018.
This, the trust says, includes “oneon-one” bullying, along with issues with “team culture”.
Bullying and harassment was the issue raised most often in the first six months of this year, followed by staff safety linked to Covid-19.
The trust says it believes this is linked to “exhaustion and anxiety leading to frayed tempers and inappropriate behaviours”.
In a trust board meeting this month the organisation’s Freedom to Speak Up guardian, Alison Bell, said bullying was the issue staff did not want to speak to their managers about.