UNDER pressure staff working for the local health trust are still ringing an action group saying that bullying is continuing despite a high level inquiry into the matter.
The news comes after a report into bullying allegations at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) by the Good Governance Institute (GGI) published last month found that there was insufficient evidence to suggest bullying was ‘endemic’.
This was despite 670 members of staff saying they had experienced or witnessed bullying behaviour in the Trust.
Former Alex Accident and Emergency nursing sister Mandy Bridgman, who had her own allegation of bullying investigated and rejected by the Trust – which instead said her claim was due to ‘inappropriate management behaviour’ – said it was an issue that simply would not go away.
“You only have to look at the statistics for the Trust – the high rate of sickness, the high staff turnover, the difficulty they have replacing staff, and us still taking calls,” said Mandy, who now volunteers for the anti-bullying campaign group Betrayed By Their Trust (BBTT).
“We were disappointed with the GGI findings but it did recognise there were hotspots, for instance among nursing staff and those hotspots are pretty big, so I think they could at least have said it was, if not endemic, then widespread,” said Mandy, who took early retirement after her claim was dismissed.
However the GGI did describe the Trust’s Dignity at Work policy as not fit for purpose a finding BBTT described as ‘weak’.
Chris Tidman, Interim chief executive at the Trust said: “We take these concerns very seriously and would urge staff to speak to us directly, via a number of confidential channels we have available, so that we can investigate them.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure we listen to staff, take their views seriously and ensure they feel safe and supported when they bring ideas to us, or raise concerns.”
