‘Bullying, racism and sexism prevails in NHS Wales’

NHS WALES has a “culture of bullying” that leaves people scared to raise issues, a media report claimed, adding that institutionalised racism and sexism prevails in the system.

Concerns are also said to be raised about how numerical targets are often put before staff well-being.

As per one of the whistleblowers who work closely with NHS Wales, the current system for raising concerns is reported to lead to further issues for those who complain, as the person who conducts the investigation within the department is "generally involved" in the cause of the complaint, “make things difficult for those who do speak out”, says a report.

"Staff is then worried and scared of raising issues because they think it will affect their career and make their working life harder,” BBC quoted Oliver (name changed) on Saturday (12) in the report, adding that “culture of bullying and harassment” is widespread and “sexism” that he has seen is “upsetting”.

About 16 per cent of NHS Wales workers have experienced bullying, harassment or abuse by another colleague, while 10 per cent said they had experienced the same from a manager, says a 2020 study, which also claimed that 14 per cent said their health board did not take effective action if staff were bullied or harassed by other members of staff or the public.

Louise (name changed), a nurse, who recently decided to leave the NHS after several years in her job due to the culture of bullying in her department, said meeting targets is often more important to managers than staff well-being and the place is full of subtle bullying.

Another consultant, Lloyd (name changed), said that a change is needed in the way complaints are handled since “not everyone is brave enough to go and fight the system, so we need people to be able to go to someone in the knowledge it's addressed”.

Recalling an incident from the early days of the pandemic, Lloyd revealed how he was told to remove his mask in order to avoid worrying people about the threat of coronavirus even though he was regularly the only consultant on the shift in the Covid ward.

"In the midst of that, that behaviour was uncalled for from a senior manager. I was quite upset about it."

Meanwhile, the British Medical Association (BMA) has asked the Welsh government and NHS providers to invest in and establish Freedom to Speak up Guardians in Wales.

The Welsh NHS Confederation, the body that represents the health service in Wales, said that the allegations are "very serious and must be addressed".

"We're unable to comment on individual cases," said director Darren Hughes. "The NHS takes reports of bullying and harassment seriously and we're saddened to hear of the experiences of these individuals.”