A trade union has questioned whether the chief executive of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust was ‘misleading or misled’ over bullying and harassment claims.
Accusations of bullying by senior managers were among the criticisms levelled at the trust by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which placed it in special measures last year.
Oldham: “It’s not going to be tolerated”
Speaking at a recent trust board meeting, Maggie Oldham vowed to tackle bullying within the trust.
She said:
“We continue to hear the trust has a culture of bullying. I’m told by some that bullying doesn’t exist in our trust and I’m told by others it’s rife.
“Whether it’s one person, or 100 people it’s not going to be tolerated.
“Since that inspection, the trust has brought in anti-bullying advisors, freedom to speak up champions and a freedom to speak up guardians to tackle the problem.”
Outstanding bullying and harassment grievances
But in a statement this week, the GMB claimed Ms Oldham was not ‘in full possession of the facts’ when speaking at the meeting.
GMB regional organiser, Adrian Baker, said there were outstanding grievances related to bullying and harassment stretching back as far as last November.
He added:
“This tends to make Maggie Oldham’s words ring a little hollow and must leave the trust looking red faced to say the least.
“When addressing such a sensitive matter as bullying and harassment we would simply expect the chief executive would be in full possession of the facts.
“When trying to reassure her staff and board on such matters, we ask whether she has herself been misled, whether she was simply unaware or was she misleading those both under her care and who she is answerable to.”
Call for immediate audit
The GMB has called for a meeting with Ms Oldham to seek assurances the trust supports its anti bullying initiative and ask the trust conduct an immediate audit of outstanding matters.
When asked to comment, the Isle of Wight NHS trust reaffirmed its commitment to stamp out bullying within the trust.
Image: deanhochman under CC BY 2.0
