Crunch meeting for NHS whistleblowers
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WHISTLE-BLOWERS who made public accusations concerning a severe bullying culture at NHS Highland are set for a crunch meeting with the health board that has been set for next week.
The announcement was made in a statement addressed to NHS Scotland chief executive Paul Gray on Tuesday in Inverness where it was revealed that the number of reported victims now reached 100.
Present at the meeting were Dr Jonathan Ball and Dr Iain Kennedy – two of the signatories of the open letter which made the allegations public a month ago – and they were joined by Dr Alistair Todd and GMB’s lead representative Gavin Smith.
The doctors reiterated their calls for a public inquiry, maintaining that is the only mechanism that would allow bullying victims to speak out and were unequivocal in their demands that the "decade-long sever bullying culture in NHS Highland to be acknowledged and for the senior leadership to be held to account."
But in the statement read out by Dr Kennedy they also acknowledged the need for "a gesture of goodwill".
He said: "Over the past decade, numerous attempts to disclose the bullying culture in NHS Highland have been thwarted.
"While the chairman of NHS Highland has expressed a desire to meet with the four doctors who made the disclosure statement of Monday, September 24, we have found it difficult to envisage how this would move things forward, given the fate that has befallen many others who have raised bullying within NHS Highland over a number of years."
He added: "Given the large number of victims who are coming forward (already more than 100) and their wide range of occupations, we feel the only credible way that their pains and distress can be heard and represented is through a public inquiry, preferably undertaken by a QC or judge, that is completely independent of the board of NHS Highland. There are more victims waiting in the wings to see if it will be safe for them to come forward, after we have met with you.
"As a gesture of goodwill, and to show our willingness to open a constructive dialogue, we have agreed to an informal, non-minuted confidential meeting with a number of senior medical managers in NHS Highland on the evening of October 30."
On the same day the health board "urged progress" on the situation surrounding bullying and released its own statement: "We recognise the utmost seriousness of the situation and are prepared to leave no stone unturned to get to the truth.
"There is clearly an issue of some sort which needs to be understood. We are of the firm opinion that it is surely in everyone’s interest for any allegations to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
"For the sake of all of our staff and the people we serve we feel this cannot continue in this way. Our offer to meet the four clinicians remains open and we hope others will speak up and we urge that to happen as a matter of urgency."
NHS Highland continues to deny a "culture" of bullying exists at the board despite mounting evidence going back years that stretches over a range of roles with more than 100 people coming forward already.
Dr Kennedy underlined that he would not be surprised if the final number of victims reached 1000 and that was is why the group are demanding a victim support programme for employees as well as "change in culture from one of bullying to one of learning and support".
