'Culture of bullying' in Nottingham hospitals
A recent inspection has found that Nottingham hospitals need to improve staff treatment standards
Last updated 15th Sep 2021
A report published today by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has ruled that Nottingham University Hospitals Trust 'requires improvement' in treatment of staff and that widespread changes need to be made.
Senior leadership at Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital - which make up the trust - has been labelled 'inadequate' by the CQC, reporting that there is a "culture of bullying" across the organisation.
The report also said that some cases were "directly attributable to racial discrimination", while "policies and procedures did not provide staff with adequate support."
Inspectors visited the trusts' hospitals in June and July 2021 to inspect the quality of specific services.
The hospitals' caring services were rated 'outstanding', but safety, effectivity and responsivity of services were each rated 'requires improvement'.
The full report published September 15 stated: “There was a culture of bullying across the organisation. We were told of bullying incidents occurring across the trust with a ‘lack’ of ability to address or resolve incidents in a timely fashion and that culture, policies and procedures did not provide staff with adequate support.
“We were told of a number of bullying cases were directly attributable to racial discrimination. The trust’s latest staff survey showed; the trust was above average for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff experiencing bullying or harassment.”
Rupert Egginton, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We would like to assure patients and colleagues that we are working hard to address the serious concerns highlighted in the recent CQC report, focussing on standards of leadership within the Trust.