Health chiefs at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust have vowed to tackle the ‘culture of bullying’ that continues to exist within the Trust.
A recent staff survey found just 44 per cent would recommend the Trust as a place to work, while only 61 per cent felt the organisation acted on concerns raised by patients and service users.
Oldham: “No place for bullying here”
Speaking at last week’s Trust Board meeting, chief executive Maggie Oldham — who has been in post since last May — told the board,
“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.
“I want to be clear, there is absolutely no place for bullying here in our Trust, or the wider NHS or public sector services.”
‘Out of touch’ leadership
Leadership at the Trust was judged to be out of touch by the Care Quality Commission (CQC,) which plunged the trust into special measures last year.
It also cited accusations of bullying by senior managers among its criticisms.
Since that inspection, the Trust has brought in anti-bullying advisers, freedom to speak up champions and a freedom to speak up guardians to tackle the problem.
Oldham: Trust will do “whatever it takes”
Ms Oldham said,
“In the survey, we had a number of staff come forward and say they’d experienced bullying. My tolerance is very low — I don’t want any.”
She said the Trust would do “whatever it takes” to eradicate bullying from the organisation, but accepted were would be no quick cure.
She said,
“Whether it’s one person, or 100 people it’s not going to be tolerated.
“If there’s anyone who’s got an interest in health, we don’t want them being put off because of bullying.
“You can’t cure a culture overnight, but I’m doing my best to eradicate it with my executive colleagues.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight.
Image: graficmedia under CC BY 2.0
