NHS bosses spend £1m of your cash to ‘heal’ their bullying!
...as frontline medics risk lives battling virus
THE NHS is under fire over the ‘appalling’ £1 million cost of a controversial ‘healing process’ launched after a bullying scandal.
Senior doctors claimed staff at NHS Highland had suffered bullying and intimidation for years.
The allegations prompted a QCled inquiry and a proposed ninemonth ‘healing process’.
The health board will now be handed £1.03 million of public cash to hire experts including lawyers, administrators and PR specialists.
Lawyers admit it could provoke public anger as the NHS battles the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last night, political economist Eben Wilson said: ‘It’s appalling that our taxes are going to resolve poor practice instead of better health. They’re not healing in the sense taxpayers expect them to.’
The scandal erupted in 2018 when four senior doctors shared ‘serious concerns around the long-standing bullying culture that exists within the health board’, and accused management of creating a ‘culture of fear and intimidation’. John Sturrock, QC, led an independent investigation and found hundreds of people suffered ‘serious harm and trauma’ which forced them to quit their jobs or retire.
Former NHS Highland chairman David Alston quit before the findings were published, as did medical director Dr Rod Harvey.
Health board papers have now set out plans to help those affected.
They state: ‘The Scottish Government has contributed £1.03 million to support NHS Highland to deliver the healing process.
‘These funds are being used to procure the services of the lawyers, mediators, panel members, communications specialists and administrative personnel who will help deliver this independent healing process.’
Those hired include ‘initial meeting facilitators and administrators’ from a mediation company, psychopotential logical therapists, lawyers, a human resources adviser and a PR firm.
NHS Highland said it did not expect any ‘additional financial burden’ from the healing process.
But law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn warned of potential problems, saying: ‘Participants will be required to commit to honesty, albeit there is a risk of abuse.
‘The healing process proposes giving financial payments (and other outcomes, including outsourced psychological therapies and re-engagement of individuals who have left the organisation, which have an associated cost) to individuals, many of whom would not be able (and/or willing) to pursue a legal claim via the courts or tribunal.’
It said ‘this creates a number of challenges’ given current pressures on the NHS, including ‘a risk that using funds to support individuals who do not have a technical legal remedy could be criticised as not being the best use of public funds’.
Duncan Simpson, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers won’t feel they’re getting healed by a process which requires them to fork out for expensive consultants.’
Donald Cameron, Tory MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: ‘The Sturrock review was essential to tackle the shocking culture of bullying at NHS Highland but many people will be shocked that it has come at such a high financial cost.’
The Scottish Government said: ‘The Health Secretary [Jeane Freeman] has always been clear that she expected NHS Highland to bring forward a healing process and that those issues should be responded to on a case-by-case basis, with the principles of fairness, kindness and compassion underpinning the whole process.’
‘Shocked this comes at such high financial cost’