Claims of bullying at the Freeman Hospital 's prestigious heart surgery unit have been cited as one of the reasons behind a national investigation into "bullying and harassment" in hospital cardiothoracic departments nationwide.
The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery is currently analysing the results of a survey it distributed to members around the country asking if they had been victims of, or witnesses to, bullying or harassment. Though the survey has only just concluded, the charity's president Simon Kendall said the initial results were "disappointing".
Mr Kendall - himself a recently retired surgeon who worked at the James Cook University Hospital in Teesside until earlier this year - is now also a senior regional figure with NHS England and Improvement in the North East, Cumbria and Yorkshire with responsibility for professional standards.
